


Maverick

by Carrath1364



Category: G.I. Joe (Marvel Comics), G.I. Joe - All Media Types, G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013), G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra (2009)
Genre: F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-14 20:40:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 32
Words: 26,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29052303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Carrath1364/pseuds/Carrath1364
Summary: THIS STORY AND A MAJORITY OF THE CHARACTERS ARE MY PERSONAL BRAIN CHILDREN. THEY ARE WORKED INTO A WORLD I MYSELF DID NOT CREATE. LARRY HAMA, MARVEL COMICS, AND HASBRO HOLD ALL RIGHTS TO THEIR CHARACTERS I'M JUST BORROWING THEM TO WRITE THIS BOOK.
Relationships: Snake-Eyes (G.I. Joe)/Original Female Character(s), Storm Shadow (G.I. Joe)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

I was walking back to Wu's when it happened, I was pulled into a dark ally by the upper part of my arm and thrown against a wall. When my body hit the bricks of the wall, I yelped and dropped the bags I was holding. My head hurt so much I thought it'd cracked open. I didn't want to open my eyes, but when I did, I saw something I didn't expect. A boy ripping into the cups of noodles I had just bought. He was probably a year older than me. He was a bit taller than I was, too. He's long brown hair was shiny with grease from not being washed. He had light brown eyes that looked both hungry and angry. And he was so coated in dirt that I could barely make out the freckles on his face.

"You could have asked," I yelled at him as I rubbed the bump on the back of my head.

He looked at me as if I were crazy while I shoved my thick black-framed, wide lensed glasses back up on to my nose. We glared at each other until I stuck out my hand. At the sight of the waterproofed bandages wrapped around it, his face crumpled slightly.

"Come with me," I suggested. "Let me bring you back with me to my uncle's house. You can eat, rest, get some new clothes, and take a long bath. What do you say?"

He was hesitant, but in the end, I knew he couldn't resist the offer. We walked hand in hand down the crowded street and up the stairs of my uncle's off-black apartment building. I called out to Wu as we enter the small two-room apartment but got no reply. That ether meant Wu had pasted out somewhere or he wasn't home yet.

"The bathroom's over there," I informed him as I pointed to the red door across from the kitchen. "If you need any help bang on the door."

I took the grocery bag from him and went to the kitchen to unpack. All I heard to indicate that he was in the bathroom was a soft closing of the door. While I was unpacking the last bag, a hard double pound on the bathroom door made me jump and drop a cup. Thank god it didn't break.

"Coming," I hollered, picking up the container and setting it on the counter.

I peeked in, wanting to know how far he had gotten on his own. I saw he had already filled the tub. There was a trail of gray suds on the floor showing he'd scrubbed himself. He was in the tub when I came in, looking over the edge at me.

"My hair."

His voice was soft, barely a whisper as he held out my bottle of lavender shampoo. I walked carefully towards him but ended up losing my footing just as I reach the tub. We both laughed as I got to my feet and pulled my step stool over to the side of the bathtub. I stood behind him on my stool and poured the soap directly on his head. I used my fingers to detangle his long hair then massaged his scalp with the pads of my fingers. He seemed to enjoy the pampering I was giving him because his eyes slide shut and there was a hint of a smile on his lips. When I was done, I rinsed my hands in the sink and dried them. I grabbed a towel from the closet and set it on the toilet.

"I'm going to get some clothes for you so you won't have to wear those," I said, pointing to the pile of black cloth on the floor as I opened the door.

The only sound he made was of pure enjoyment so I left him in the tub while I got a few choices. I guess it was just a coincidence that he looked about the same size as my cousin Wan, that Wan had pasted away from fever two years ago at about my age, and that I was staying in Wan's old room. During the first few days of being with my uncle Wu, I found boxes of Wan's clothes which I now pulled out of the back of the closet. I opened the top and pulled out everything that was darkly colored. I returned to the bathroom with an armload and the big cloth backpack Mommy had bought me.

"How about some underwear first," I suggested, lobbing a balled up pair of boxers-breves at his chest.

I looked away as he pulled them on then tossed him a dark red crew-collar t-shit that he looked at strangely and said, "I like black better." I giggled and nodded as I perused through the pile again, coming up with black everything else but a shirt.

"How about a hoodie?" he asked as he took it from my hand.

"Okay but wear the shirt underneath," I compromised, passing him everything else that was black to him along with the backpack before rising. "Put whatever fits in the bag."

He nodded and began shoveling in everything he could. I look over at the heap of rags in the corner and a brilliant idea popped into my head. I gathered the clothes in my arms and took off for the laundry. After throwing them into the already running machine, I rushed back to the kitchen and put two noodle cups in the microwave.


	2. Chapter 2

Ah, come on!” I exclaimed into my headset, button-smashing my cordless Xbox controller. “Bring it, grandmas!”

“Hey, Maverick,” Mark called over the music from what sounded like the room next door.

“Yeah?” I asked, pulling off one of my ear pads.

“You’re yelling at the screen again,” he leaned down and said in my ear, making me jump out of my skin.

“Jesus Christ, dude. You scared the fudge out of me.”

“Sorry, but I told you to get ready, like, an hour ago.”

“I am ready, see,” I replied, standing in one graceful movement.

Mark looked over my combat-boots, denim skinny jeans, white tank top, black vest, and black leather backpack. I am not surprised his gaze lingered on my face then moved to my hands. My hair, pulled up into a high ponytail to keep the majority of the long, black-red hair out of my stormy blue-gray eyes. My hands wrapped in clean gauze and taped to keep food and liquids from getting into my wounds. I tilted my head to the right and examined my cousin. DC Comics t-shirt, jeans, black Converses, and his short dirty blonde hair it’s normal playfully messy self.

“Oh, well that’s good…great,” he rambled nervously. “Let go, we don’t want to miss the last karaoke night.”

It’s about a fifteen-minute walk from our building to Garrett’s, the bar slash club that held karaoke compactions Friday through Sunday and where anyone could find me, the owner, open to close. Of course, you had to be twenty-one to enter, so twenty-year-old Lisa stayed home wail “the help”, as she calls us, wipe the floor clean with anyone ballsy enough to step on stage or up to the dartboard.

“So,” Mark blurted, grading my attention. “What’s your game tonight? Throws or souls?”

We turn our heads at the same time and say, “Throws."

We’re both laughing as we barreled through the front door; as if this was the second bar we’d been to tonight. I headed straight to the counter and ordered a beer for Mark and a tall glass of ginger ale for myself. Mark slumped in a chair at our usual spot, the last two seats at the table that ran half the length of the bar which ended at the dartboard and was the furthest away from the dance floor. I set the drinks on the table and slipped my bag from my shoulders before turning towards the board. Mark watched, sipping on his beverages, as workers set up the little stage while I got in a few practice shots.

I was standing in front of the target board, ripping out each of the darts I’d thrown, when he came in. Short-cropped black hair, black eyes, Asian, and tan, I’d recognize him anywhere. He was dressed in a white crew collar t-shirt that showed off the red stripes tattooed on his left bicep and white cargo pants held up by a white leather belt with a silver buckle, the pant's legs tucked inside his white leather combat boots. Exactly like yesterday and Friday, he sat alone in a booth, staring at the bartenders, Max and Wiley, intensely.

I strolled back over to Mark and set the darts on the table. I drummed my fingers against the table as I took a mouthful of ginger ale and held it in there a moment before swallowing. Why just sit there? I wondered as my leg started to bounce, making the rest of the table vibrate. I looked back up at him, confusion was written plainly of my face.

“You okay, Maverick?” Mark questioned, waving his hand in front of my face.

“I‘m fine, Mark,” I answered, putting down my glass and grabbing eight darts, four red and four white. “I’m going to see if that guy wants to play?”

“That one?” Mark looked at me as if I was crazy while he pointed at the man in the booth.

“That one,” I nodded, starting the long walk to the booth.

I looked down at the floor as I walked but kept the man in my range of sight. When I got to the booth, I looked up and meet his harsh gaze. I smiled sweetly, which seems to confuse him until I sat down across from him and held up the handful of darts.

“For every bull’s-eye you made on the target you can ask the others a question that they have to answer honorably,” I stated, laying the darts on the table.

“Honorably,” he agreed, scooping them up as he stands, his voice was deep with a slight rasp to it. “What made you think I would play?”

“You looked lonely and I’m bored, might as well entertain each other,” I reasoned, leading him over to where Mark sat waiting ramrod straight in his seat. “Calm it, dude.”

“Honorable Questionnaire?” Mark asked as I rounded the table‘s end.

I gave him my best, “duh,” face then untied the top flap of my backpack and loosened the drawstring. I opened the mouth of the bag and took out my case of personal throwing darts. I looked up at the stranger in white through my lashes and smirked at his amused expression.

“Don’t wait for me,” I insisted, placing my eight darts on the table in front of me. “Remember, Shakespeare, fifteen feet from the board, red not green, and no cheating.”

“I suggest checking those,” Mark warned the man as I moved to join them, darts carefully in hand. “She doesn’t say anything about sabotage.”

I was about to point out to Mark that sabotage was cheating but the stranger just started throwing. It only took him a quarter of a minute to land four reds and five in the green. I nodded in approval as the guy pulled free his darts and moved out of the way from my cousin. I watched the board as Mark’s dart appears on the target. Black, green, white, black, red, white, green, then another green. I pushed off the table and clasped Mark on the back before he went off to get his darts. When he was done, I took my first dart in my hand and rolled it between my fingers. I took in a deep calming breath and let the dart fly. Before I knew it, my hands were empty and I had beaten the stranger by a red.

“Who’s first?” the man asked, settling himself into my chair.

“Ladies, of course,” Mark asserted, surprising me with his coolness.

“Oh-kaaay,” I stretched out the word then took a gulp a ginger ale. “Why are you here?”

“I’m looking for someone,” the man answered vaguely.

“Who, as in the name of said person?” I asked, bracing my hands on the edge of the table and bending over it.

“Maverick,” he said through his teeth, looking extremely uncomfortable.

“Honor bound,” Mark noted. “An amazing quality.”

“Why are you looking for her?” I pried, my voice tensing.

“My boss wants to talk to her,” he replied, staring daggers at me. “You know Maverick?”

“Yes,” Mark and I responded.

“And, now we both have two questions left,” I retorted, pushing off the table and begin pacing franticly, nervously knocking my thumb and pinky against my thigh in the beat of Spotlight by Mutemath.

“Who are you?” he questioned, acting as if he was the one cornering me.

“Dude, wasteful,” Mark commented shaking his head at the man. “I’m the next great Shakespeare.”

“The girl who knows everyone that ever stepped through that door except you,” I countered motioning with my chin. “Last question, mystery man. I suggest you use it wisely.”

“Well that just dandy,” Mark complained about my now irritated state of being, putting his forehead in his right hand.

“What?” the man asked, confused.

“You’re a misuse of organic material that’s what.” I hissed, getting right in his face then shooting back, grabbing my drink and downing it, to try to calm myself. “Your turn, Shakespeare.”

“What are yours and your boss’s names?” Mark probed then turns to me. “You don’t have to answer, Av.”

Just let it slide, Maverick, and get through this game without ripping anyone's throat out.

“Bossman first,” I ordered, steeling myself for his answers.

“Cobra…Commander,” he forked out the two words; the two words I hadn’t thought could come out of his mouth.

“Holy cheese,” I blurted, all the puzzle pieces that made up this guy clicked into place. “You’re Storm Shadow of Cobra…and we’re leaving.”

“What is it with you and Switzerland?” Mark asked, standing up.

“Sit down,” I demanded, my voice strained as I shoved him down into the seat. “When I said we’re leaving, I meant Storm and I. I’m steel, remember.”

“Just a shinny, sharper shade of gray,” Mark’s voice cracked. “So then, what’s the story, Maverick?”

“Moving in with a guy I’ve been seeing here,” I whispered in his ear as I hugged him tightly. “It’s not a complete lie but when do I ever tell people whole truths, Mark? Oh, and you know the footlocker, empty it into a box with all the clothes you can fit in the spaces and bring it here as soon as you can.”

Mark nodded stiffly as I pull on my backpack.

“You’re coming quietly?” Storm Shadow asked surprised.

“I‘m complying but only under my terms,” I retorted, heading for the door. “No one opens that box beside me and I‘m a guest, not a prisoner. You got that?”

“Loud and clear,” he smirked, putting his arm around my shoulders as I wrapped my arms around his waist.


	3. Chapter 3

We walked about five minutes before a windowless black van pulled over in front of us. When the side door sled open I dropped my arms and surprised the people inside by pushing past them and sitting on the tire hump. It took one of them a few seconds to remember the black sack that they were supposed to put over my head.

"Allow me," I insisted, taking it and pulling it past my chin.

The ride was quiet, which was okay with me. If I didn't have to talk yet then why say anything. While I wasn't talking, I was resting. My arms crossed over my knees with my hooded head lying on top of them.

I think I fell asleep because before I knew it I was placed on someone's back, my unhooded head on their white-clothed shoulder, Storm Shadow. As he walked, the swaying of his body as he moved rocked me back into unconsciousness.

When I came to again I was alone, in a uniform militancy guest quarters with only the bed I was lying on, a side table, a lamp and a one-way mirror occupying the larger space. It was cold too. Thankful they hadn't taken my backpack, it sat at the end of the bed looking untouched. The frame of the bed creaked as I threw my legs over the side, the chilled chain of my necklace rubbing against my skin as I moved. I stood there for a moment tightening then relaxing each of my muscles. 

"So glad I'm always prepared," I mumbled, yanking off my vest.

I dragged over my backpack and ripped out the black hoodie I kept at the bottom. As the zipper reached the middle, a band of red ninjas came bursting in followed by Storm Shadow. He was wearing a long coat that zipped at the side, fingerless gloves, fitted pants, and sneakers, all white of course. I grinned as I let my hair flow free past my shoulders, forever pin-straight. I bounced across the noisy bed, seizing my backpack in the process. To everyone else but the white-clad ninja falling in step beside me, it looked as if I were staring into space.

"Who taught you that?" he asked, his voice hinted with astonishment.

"The elderly men who lived next to me were Japanese Buddhists who came to America looking for someone to pass their knowledge onto," I replied, bushing. "They choose me because of my ability to live up to my name, tight spiritual connection, and my unparalleled protective nature."

"Maverick," he seemed to test my name, as you would test bath water before taking a long soak. "So, you're a rebel, one of a kind, and the odd one out?"

"All of the above," I shrugged then looked up at his blank face. "But that's not the name I was referring to."

We were quiet for a moment before I asked, "What does Cobra know about me, what about me made me a target?"

"That's your last question," Storm breathed crossing his arms over his broad chest.

"No, it's not," I giggled lightly, shaking my head. "You ask three more than the four you eared before I got to my last, so thanks for the six extra. Answer."

"Later," he insisted, looking down at me intensely. "In the meantime, I suggest staying on his good side. It'll help you survive here, to an extent."

I winced. "Remember my unparalleled protective nature?"

"Yes?" Storm urged then holds up a finger. "I know you get two more. Explain."

"Well," I started, my voice raising a couple of octaves. "I don't think he'll like that I'd kill myself before letting anyone use the people I love to force me into doing the things they what me to do."

Storm's head rotated, his astonished gaze raking me down and back up to meet my eyes. The expression screamed, "Are you for real?" I simply nodded, my face set in unwavering earnestness. That seemed to take the wind out of Storm Shadow sails but he kept moving, caught up in my braze current. We came to a turn and he seemed to recover slightly as we took the corner.


	4. Chapter 4

I'm not one of those people who notice pain weather it is inflected or natural, so I tend to get self-conscious when others notice before I do. Therefore, when my stomach growled so loud it sounds like a bear, I started turning all different embarrassing shades if red when Storm turned his head and stared down at me.

"Now don't go getting those ninja panties in a twist," I ordered, trying to hide my face with my hair. "I've got granola and beef-jerky in my bag and will eat them when I get to where ever you're taking me. Just ... ignore the growls."

Even after that, each time a snarl ripped at my stomach at least two or three heads turned in my direction. I'm the nosiest person here, I thought, shaking my head as I laid a hand over my stomach to try to silence it.

The room we entered was exceedingly plain, with its whitewash walls, rectangular metal table, and three uncomfortable steel chairs. Thanks to the large one-way window taking up the majority of the left wall, I figured it was an interrogation room. The four reds entered the room, stationing themselves in each corner before Storm motioned for me to go inside and sit in the chair facing the window. Just to see what would happen, I stood in the entrance and toss me backpack onto the table's top, the table banging like a gong.

"Ha, I've got me some Jumpers," I hooted as the ninjas straighten out of their fighting stances then looked over at the window but addressed Storm Shadow. "You know I'll be keeping track, right?"

"I still have to get that box to you," he hinted, closing the door behind us. "Sit."

"Yes, sir," I sounded off, throwing in a salute for fun.

I walked over to the table, taking my own sweet time. I used the toe of my boot I kicked out the chair then crashed down into it. As I rummaged through my bag, Storm Shadow began with his questioning with, "Are you a prejudice person, Maverick?" I looked up at as if he had a third eye on his chin.

"No," I answered, pulling out a snack-baggie full of granola. "I don't judge a person until they play me in a game of Honorable Questionnaire."

"So you have nothing against Cobra Commander?"

"Duh. I haven't played the helmeted man behind the glass yet."

Storm Shadow leaned back in his seat and jarred himself as he hits the back of the chair. I thought about explaining it to him but decided to wait and eat until he asked me to. No freebies, Ninja Boy, I teased in my head. It seemed to affect him longer than my last trick because before he asked, "How can you see through the glass?" I was on my second baggie.

"You know the puzzle pictures that you have to figure out the picture behind all the junk in front?" I asked, giving him my full attention, and when he didn't shake his head I continued. "One-way glass is kind of like those for me but twice as hard. If I stare at it at the right angle and have my eyes open or close a specific way, the image becomes clearer than just the mirror reflection most people see...Next question."

That's when the door burst open and the man behind the window comes into the room. He was decked out in a helmet with a mirrored faceplate, a trench coat, black pants tucked into his boots, and leather gloves. There was not a sliver of skin showing anywhere on this man, the man known as Cobra Commander.

"Do you know you talk in your sleep?" he hissed on the s.

"Yes, people have also told me I scream my head off too but that's only during my night-terrors," I answered, keeping my eyes on Storm Shadow.

"Night-terrors?"

"I've always had them. They come and go, subtly altering themselves each time I endure one of them."

"How so?"

"Well, one night I'll be in a white nightgown, humming to myself as I gaze out a window. The next thing I know I'm forced to the ground, a pillow being pressed into my face. I wake up gasping for air. A few nights later, I am in a black gown standing by a shadowy mirror and suddenly the floor collapses underneath me. I awake, clawing my way into a seat position on my floor. And the reason they're so scary, Commander, is that they are so vivid. Each one is more like a memory than a dream."

He nodded. I noticed, as his head stilled where he and two others were looking. I felt the heavy pressure of their curious gazes against my hands. I raised my right hand and looked it over the packs of red starting in the off-centers of the back and palm of my bandages.

"Do you need anything daily for those?" Cobra Commander asked, leaning forward onto the table.

"Two bottles of alcohol, a bronze basin, a box of matches, and as much gauze and surgical tape you can get your hands on," I listed, whipping my head to the side and challenging him with my eyes.

"Storm Shadow," Commander's head turned towards the white ninja. "Take our guest to her new quarters, she'll find what she needs there." Then he righted himself and rotated his head back to me. "It was a pleasure to meet your acquaintance, Maverick."

"Likewise," I said, smiling slightly as he exited the room.


	5. Chapter 5

I was fiddling what the frayed end of my right backpack strap when Storm Shadow's head fidgeted towards me, as if he wanted to say something but changed his mind. I rolled my eyes at his indecision and went back to play with the fray.

"How many questions do you have after this one?" he asked distastefully, stopping in front of a non-descriptive door.

"Fifteen," I smirk, moving past him while he held the door open.

This room had the same things inside as the last one with a few upgrades. The bed wasn't an extra-long twin but a full with a thick comforter. There was a desk with a rolling chair against the wall across from the entrance to the room. However, my favorite addition to the room was a bathroom, visible from the entrance thank to the sliding door being left open. I just couldn't have stopped myself from closing my eyes a moment and mouthing, "Thank you".

"I'll go see if your box is here yet," Storm Shadow informed me then closed the door softly behind him.

I waited a minute, smiling to myself before practically running to the bathroom. After releasing a bladder full of pee, I searched the cabinets for the things I needed for my hands and brought everything into the bedroom. I sat in the middle of the room and opened the bottle of alcohol. I started slowly, tenderly removing the soiled dressings of my left hand and placing them in the big bronze bowl in front of me. I held my hand out over the basin and poured a quarter of the alcohol through the dime-sized hole in the off-center of my palm.

"Doesn't that hurt?" Storm Shadow's said, making me almost spill the bottle's continence all over me.

"No," I answered. "Do you not know how to knock or did you what me to reek of disinfectant?"

"Sorry," he apologized, setting himself down in front of me. "How did you get those?"

"It stigmata," I informed him as I bound the wound with the gauze. "I'm just glad I wasn't born with it on my head or feet. Let me seal this one then I'll let you do my right," I began water-proofing my hand with the tape. "I have twenty questions now."

He sat there quietly, waiting for me to finish. When I held out my hand, he took it gingerly, as if I might shatter if he handled me too sharply. He followed my instructions exactly. Doing the whole process with my palm up. Waiting for all the alcohol to run off my hand before dressing it. I think the tape was the hardest for him.

"Do you feel any of this?" he asked, letting my hand go.

"Everything but the pain," I stated, striking a match and throwing it into in basin of bandages and alcohol.

He seemed only slightly stunned by this, "Did you learn how-?"

"I was born unable to feel pain," I cut him off, watching the flames consume everything in the bowl.

"You've never felt pain?"

"Maybe unable was a poor choice of word." I got up off the floor and went to rinse the bowl. "I've felt pain before in the present workings of only two people. A nine-year-old boy I meet in Japan when I visited my drunken uncle Wu. The other was one of my teachers, a very gender-racist man if you ask any of the others but I respected him even if he disapproved of me. Even though I don't feel it regularly, I've got a very high tolerance for pain."

"The boy, what did he look like?" He rose from the ground in one swift movement and was at my heels in three long strides.

"Light brown hair and eyes, and a freckle on each of his cheeks. Now, stop asking questions, it's my turn." I whipped around and notice how close he was, his body one or two inches away from mine. "What does Cobra know about me, what about me made me a target?"

"The Commander wants something from you that he knows you won't give to anyone willingly." he moved in closer, making me hop up onto the counter just to give myself a little more room.

"What exactly does he want from me?" I lower my head, thinking of every upcoming possibility for this situation. I didn't much like any of them but at least I lived in most.

He placed a finger under my chin and tilted my head up, getting my eyes back to his. His finger slid as down my throat with the gentleness of water, making me freeze in place. It fell slowly towards my collarbone and met the chain that lay against my skin. His voice was just a whisper in my ear when he answered, "This."

I placed my left hand against the zipper of his crisp white jacket and I reached towards my boot while I tilted my head in towards his mouth. When my finger contacted with the hidden sai I had in my boot, I yanked it out, shoved Storm into the wall behind him and held the hilt out to his. With a flick of my wrist, I sent the knife deep into the wall, a hair from his ear. I hopped and pushed myself off and away from the counter. I stood in front of Storm a moment before swiping my sai back.

"Your right, he can't have it." The resolve in my words echoed off the tiled walls as I left the bathroom.


	6. Chapter 6

I didn't bother to unpack the refrigerator-sized box but I did open it for a change of attire. I pushed the box over to my bed and used one of my sai to open the top. Thankfully, an outfit was waiting neatly folded on top of everything.

"Gotta love that girl," I said aloud to myself as I returned the sai to my boot.

I pulled out a pair of skinny jeans, a pair of plain black leather riding boots, a matching belt, a whitish-gray long-sleeve, and my favorite steel-gray cashmere sweater and closed the top before Storm Shadow exited the bathroom. He held out his hand to help me down off the bed but I declined. I bounced off the bed, excepting it to shriek with relief, and landed soundlessly beside Storm.

"It didn't make a sound," I mused, surprised.

"You didn't like that the other one was so small and that it made so much noise when you moved so we gave you one that is bigger and quieter," he explained, heading for the door. "Towels are under the sink."

I closed the bathroom door behind me and placed my clothes on the counter. I sat on the toilet while I took off my boots and removed my leg sheathes. I opened the cabinet under the sink and pulled out two different sized towels and hung both on the hooks beside the shower. I grabbed the long-toothed comb along with a bottle of three-in-one liquid soap out of the mirror cabinet and placed them in a corner of the shower. I undressed inside the shower, behind the beige curtain, and threw my clothes out as I took them off, hanging my neckless on one of the hooks.

The water felt amazing against my skin. I just stood under the foist for a few minutes before moving a muscle. I grabbed up the comb and ran it numerous times through my hair, getting every knot out. When the comb continued to glide through without any trouble, I squeezed a glob of shampoo into my hand and scrubbed it into my scalp vigorously. Rather than rinse my hair after giving it a good rub down, I yanked the comb through it again and continued while the water washed out the suds. After disudsing myself, I soaped up and rinsed clean.

I rang out my hair then turned off the water. I reached out from behind the curtain for my towels. I whipped myself down quickly with the bigger of the towels then wrapped it tightly around me and pulled on my neckless. I threw back the curtain and stood there a moment using both hands to rub the smaller towel on my hair. I looked over the things lying on the floor and sitting on the counter. Everything was exactly as it was before.

I blew a nice, wet raspberry, as I normally do when I'm annoyed with myself and stepped out of the shower. I pulled on my clothes, strapped on my sai, and tugged on my boots. I worked in front of the mirror, weaving my damp hair into a French braided crown around my head.

"I like it better down."

At the sound of Storm Shadow's voice, I nearly jumped four feet in the air. When I turned, he was sitting on the toilet looking at something in a folder. I pointed at the door then twisted back around, my finger then pointing at Storm Shadow. I was dumbfounded as to how he'd gotten from the door, past me, and to the toilet without me hearing or seeing him.

Stupid hair.

"Why do you like my hair down better than up?" I asked, my confusion obvious in my tone.

"I enjoy watching the way it moves when you walk," he replies, throwing me for another loop.

"Yeah, well. It cuts my peripheral vision in half so up and out of my face is the only way I like it."

He nodded, closing the folder then tossing it over the sink and across the counter. I shot out a hand and stopped it dead in front of me. I panned over to Storm, studied his face. The level of grim made my look quickly away and down at the folder. I leaned to my right and drew my sai from its sheath. This made Storm Shadow jump to his feet.

"Don't worry yourself," I said as I flipped the folder open. "I wasn't going to throw it at you."

"You will want to after seeing what that folder holds," he promised, backing his way into the bedroom.

He was right, a second after my eyes touched the photo of the blue, oval-eyed and salt-n-pepper haired woman, the sai was all the way in the other room, sunk prong-deep into the plaster wall over the bed, and Storm Shadow's ear was bleeding. We stared at each other from a moment before I asked, "Do you have her?"

He waited for a second, probably seeing if I'd calm down a bit more, then evenly replied, "No, they're not even close."

I looked back over at the folder and examined every report, picture, bank statement, credit card, and cell-phone bill. Cash withdraws were big, normal for my mom. She only had two credit cards, using one the pay for the other was how Jane kept her credit scores so high. The one thing that seemed weird to me was that the only number on Jane's phone bill belonged to a dead man. The strangest thing was that he was calling her.

"How is that possible?" I asked, more to myself than Storm Shadow.

"What?" he blurted, coming over to look over my shoulder.

"I have twenty-six question and my mom is getting calls from a deceased family friend," I retorted, holding up the most recent phone bill for him. "Either he's not really dead or someone is using his cell-phone to have quick chats with my mom."

"The name of this deceased family friend," It wasn't a question but a demand.

"I knew him by the nickname Duke."


	7. Chapter 7

I was pulling pillar-candles out of my box and setting them on the side table when Storm Shadow decided to stop by again, but this time he had someone with him. The man that entered before him wore a full-face mask with a vizier, a black body-suit, boots, and a long hooded black trench coat. He had a watch on his left wrist and a strange bracelet like thing on his right, but what really caught my eye were the pistol and the katana in his hands.

"So," I blurted, capturing both of their attentions while I kept digging around in my box. "Who's he?"

"Maverick meet Snake-eyes," he gestured from me to the guy in black, then form the guy back to me. "Snake-eyes that's Maverick."

We gesturing at each other at exactly the same time.

"Ha," I exclaimed, making both of them look at me as if I'm crazy. "Found them."

"What exactly?" Storm asked, sounding annoyed.

My voice all dreamy-like as I hugged the book and wakazashi to my chest. "I honestly cannot believe they even fond them."

Once my wakazashi was secured to my belt, I crouched down to place the book in my backpack, conveniently waiting at my feet. I took out my iPod before tightened the drawstring and flipping the flap over the top. After wiring my headphones through the back of my sweater, I powered on my iPod and checked the time.

"Wow, I must have really worn myself out," I marveled, noticing it was nine at night instead of nine in the morning and that it was Thursday rather than Monday, as I let the headphone hang in front of me. "Well, at least I've got a load of energy to burn."

"Good," Storm commented, taking a look down the hall through the slightly opened door. "Your liberation isn't going to happen on its own."

"True," I agreed, nodding my head, as I raised from my stoop and reached back into the box for the katana that was all my own.


	8. Chapter 8

While we moved through the halls I stayed behind Storm Shadow but each time we came to a corner I glanced back to make sure Snake-eyes was still behind us. He was so quiet I sometimes thought he'd been separated from us but every time I looked back there he was, like my shadow. It was weird but the further we got from the room the safer I felt having both of them with me.

"Maverick," Storm said, opening the door beside him, as we were coming to a four-way. "Get going."

The door I now noticed lead to a staircase at lead only up. So, we're heading for the roof? I pondered, keeping pace behind Snake as we climbed the stairs two at a time. As we continued to ascend, I concentrated on my feet and noticed all too late that Snake had stopped. This leads to me plowing into his back and then getting knockback into Storm, who caught me in his elbows under my armpits.

"Thank you," I breathed as Storm help righten me I looked over at Snake, he was staring down at a ribbon of red a few stories below us. "Fight or flight?"

"Flight for now," Storm answered, gently pushing me forward.

We climbed three more turns when I started feeling pinpricks around my ankle. Shit, I really don't need this right now! I thought, grabbing hold of the handrail. I'd pulled myself two cases further when Storm Shadow took my other hand, advanced me and pulled me onto his back. I wrapped my legs around his waist and tried not to chock him as he powered up the steps.

"That's it, Snake," Storm called forward.

Snake-eyes picked up the pace and reached the door at the top of the stairs. Snake held the door open just long enough from Storm to get the two of us through, and then let the wind slam it shut. When we reached the helicopter, I let myself unravel from around Storm Shadow. Snake placed himself in the driver's seat and began flip switches. I sat in the back behind the co-pilot's chair where Storm was sitting and held my backpack in my lap. I grabbed one of the headsets, the same one's Snake and Storm were now wearing, hanging by my seat and adjusted the microphone.

"Elevate that ankle," Storm ordered as he helped Snake with the last few switches.

"Thanks by the way," I glorified, resting my foot on the seat in front of me. "Even though I hate being the damsel in distress."

"If I hadn't assisted you when I did you would have caused further injury to yourself," he justified, his voice very professional.

"I wasn't just talking about my stupid sprang ankle," I corrected. "I'm thankful to you two for getting me the hell out of there. I was literally trying my hardest to not go insane due to boredom."

I saw the quick glance at Snake-eyes that Storm did before asking, "Are you in any pain?"

"Yes," I replied unsure as to where he was going with this. "Why?"

"Just checking," he smirked.


	9. Chapter 9

I awoke in a start, jerking myself upright in my bed. I wiped the back of my hand across my forehead to mop away the sweat. I pressed my fingers against my throat and felt my racing pulse. I slammed the palms of my hands into the mattress and made a face at the mirror in front of me out of frustration. After a few minutes, I was calm enough to lay back down.

“Bad dream?” he asked, wrapping his arms around my waist and laying his head on my chest.

“It was nothing,” I lied, stroking his silky brown hair. “I’m sorry for waking you.”

“As long as you’re with me we’ll be fine,” he said, letting go of me and sitting up on the bed.

I smiled up at him, placing my hand on his freckled cheek. He reached up and took my hand from his face. Then something strange happened, his form flicked. One moment he was his brown-hair, brown-eyed, two freckled cheeked self then he was none of that, just a man in all black.

My eyes flew open then as I felt the helicopter land roughly and my backpack hit me in the face. Well, that was nice of you, I thought detaching it from the hook and putting my headset back in its rightful place. I watched Storm and Snake powered the chopper down then I waited for them to get out before I did. Storm supported my bad side and carried my katana as we walked through a hanger packed with jets, fighter planes, bombers, fraught planes, and every other aircraft I could think of.

“Where are we?” I asked, going starry-eyed from all the planes.

“I have no idea,” Storm lied, handing me my katana. “Snake was the one flying and I bet you won’t get it out of him.”

“Why’s that?”

“Snake is one of those strong silent types. It doesn't stop him from communicating though.”

“What side are you on, Snake?” I called up to him.

He held up his right arm, the one with the strange bracelet.

“Snake-eyes is a Joe,” Storm explained, as we joined Snake by the elevator.

“What, no stairs?” I teased as he passed me off to Snake-eyes.

"Sorry but even ninjas like us get tired," Strom smirked as the doors closed, leaving him in the hanger.


	10. Chapter 10

Do you know how some people can never forget a face? Well, for me it's the grip of their hands. Every time I’ve ever met a person I always seem to come in contact with their hands, whether it is a professional handshake or a friendly hug. The way I remember is by the length and width of each hand, the diameter of each finger, the displacement of pressure, and the lines on their palms. With Snake, I already knew all of at before Storm handed me off to him. It was almost as if I was eight-years-old again and back in Japan. I didn’t know if he remembered me or hadn’t recognized me yet, I always had my hair in my face and I never took off my glasses back then, so I stayed as quiet as he did. 

When the elevator stopped, Snake tensed slightly. What? Wrong stop? I pondered, gazing up at Snake then turning my head towards the opening doors. There was nothing immediately behind the doors but a few yards back a gray/black wolf with charcoal-black eyes sat at the fork in the hallway. When it rose its self from its haunches, Snake relaxed. Once it made its way to the elevator, it glanced over at Snake and me, sniffed my katana then locked its teeth on the end of the metal-edged scabbard. As the wolf began yanking me into the hall, I looked up at Snake while he tried to keep me stationary. 

“Should we follow?” I asked.

Snake’s head turns towards me and inclined slight before letting the wolf move me. As the wolf pulled me through the halls a few limping steps at a time, Snake kept me on my feet. We ended up in a conference room of some sort but the people there were dressed in everything but suits and all of them had dog-tags.

“So,” the burly man standing at the other side of the table boomed. “Your Maverick?”

“Maybe I should be the one asking questions since you’re the ones who want me here in the first place?” I countered as the wolf released my katana. 

I continued my annoyed staring contest with the man until a voice like wind chimes behind me said, “I’ll take her from here, Snake-eyes.”

“Mom?” I asked as Snake held me firmly.

My salt-n-pepper-haired, sapphire-eyed, fifty-seven-year-old adoptive mother entered the room through the same door Snake and I were pulled through and stated, “I request permission to take Mavey to her room and see a few friends. In doing this you will get your debriefing. Anyway, she won’t answer your question until you play her in a game of Honorable Questionnaire.”

“Fine,” the man thundered then leaned on the table and pointed over my shoulder at my mother. “I want your report.”

“There’s always the dartboard at Garret’s,” I offered as my mom and Snake helped me out of the room.


	11. Chapter 11

"My room" as Jane had called it was my room or, in a sense, both of my rooms combined. The room had my Florida floor plan, the room had different floor levels and had a door on the east wall that should lead to a bathroom. While the furniture came mostly from D.C., my iron candle holders and my stereo system I could pick out right away. The room was lite by the glow of at least a hundred lavender candles, which were the only other real colorful color in the room beside my denim jeans hanging in the overflowing closet. The sent of smoke and lavender was so thick in the air that each time I took in a breath I eased a step closer to pure Zen.

"Pumpkin," Jane exclaimed with alarm, taking my face in her hands.

"It just the lavender," I said, patting her right hand. "It's way too strong."

"She's right about that one," I heard a deep but slightly boyish voice agree. Mark.

"Pee-u, Gray," a voice that belonged to a fairy complained. Lisa. "Are you burning another bunny?"

That's when my mother looked at me as if my cousin had just told her I'd committed a third-degree crime so, of course, I defended myself with, "You're never going to let me live that one down are you, Lizzy? I only set fire to you dead rabbit because you people don't have a backyard where I could have buried it. So stop hounding me about it."

"Yeah, I know," the fairy voice said apologetically as a tiny dirty-blond-haired and green-eyed pixie with no wings lumbered over to my bed and flopped down on the mattress. "I really miss Jumper."

All I wanted to do was go lay down next to her and let her latch on to my side but my hands were starting to itch. Therefore, I asked my mom to run to the infirmary for everything but the bronze bowl, which I found in the closet with a little help from Mark. When Jane returned with her arms full of gauze, tape, and disinfectant, I was sitting in the off-center of the room with the bowl and my backpack in front of me.

"You got everything?" Jane asked, laying her bounty on the floor beside my backpack.

"Yeah Mom, thanks," I replied, shoving my hand into my backpack and pulling out a box of matches.

While I tended to my hands, Mark and Jane struck up a conversation behind me. What was the subject you ask? Me, more my hands than anything else. I acted as if all of my attention was on replacing the bandages on my hand but listened intensely. One time Mark asked my mother, "How can she fight so well with those injuries?" and Jane answered with, "Ever since Mavey was a child, her hands have never been a hindrance to her. As to her fighting, I've yet to see my daughter go against an opponent." Hopefully, you never will, I added finishing my left. As I worked on my right, I tried my hardest not to yawn too big. Once I was finished with the tape, I batted at the stray strands of hair that had been freed from my braid, out of my face and snatched the matches.

"Who wants the honor?" I offered, holding the box in the air.

"Me," Lisa's hand shoots up straight in the air. "I love watching the colors."

"Help me up first," I compromised, holding out my hand.

After Lisa heaved me to my feet, I hobbled over to my desk, sat down on top of it and set my katana down beside me. I ran both of my hands down both sides of both legs and unsheathed my four sai. I laid all four on the desk next to my katana, about an inch apart from each other, and then gently yanked off my boots. I cringed, as tens of needles were plunged eyes-hole deep into my ankle when my boot released my purple-socked foot. I pulled one of my emergence ankle braces from my backpack after removing my leg-sheaths.

"So," Jane began awkwardly while I lace up the brace. "Let's get this out of the way." I looked at her with no clue as to what she was inferring about. "What did Cobra want from you and why?"

"Well," I started, easing myself off my desk. "Maybe you should ask Storm Shadow for the why because all I know is that they want my necklace for some reason." 

"You mean the one you're always wearing?" Lisa asked, still staring at the flames in the bronze bowl.

All I did was nod as I leaned against the desk, testing out my ankle. As I shifted my weight from foot to foot, I could barely tell which I had injured. However, when I walked around the desk and parked myself in the high back chair, I didn't move with my normal grace. I pulled my legs up into the seat with me and rested my chin on my knees.

"Lisa haven't I seen that guy on the news or something?" Mark asked, pointing at Snake-eyes.

"You do watch the news a lot," she commented, not answered.

"He was framed for the murder of the President of Pakistan," my mom clarified, a wisp of a grin on her lips. "Maybe Maverick can ask Storm who really did that?"

"Might as well waste one since I've got twenty-five others to use," I said tiredly.

"You abuse Counter Rule: up two," Mark pointed out.

"It's my game," I stated in defense, giving him my "duh" face but ruin it by yawning. "Okay, I was really fighting that so-"

"We're gone," Mom got the clue and grabbed Lisa and Mark by their arms and instructed Snake to, "Make sure she doesn't fall asleep sitting up or fully dressed. She's got an absolutely horrible habit of doing both so just try your best."

"I am still conscious," I half-yawned, shielding my mouth with the back of my hand.

"Not for long," Jane remarked, closing the door behind her.

I rolled my eyes at the door as my legs dropped from the edge of the chair. Before I even made it all the way to the bathroom door, I was pulling off my sweater. From the knowledge of both of my bathrooms, I knew about the hamper beside the sink, which was where my sweater, soaks, and jeans ended up. On the counter, I found a brush but pasted it up from the long tooth plastic comb in the shower. I let my hair free from its braid and started combing it from the bottom to the very top. I continued to pull the comb through my hair until it glided from scalp to end with no problem. Also, while I was in the lavatory I decided to remove my contact lenses, they were getting dry.

So, in the end, I came out of the bathroom in my thin ash-gray long-sleeve and black boy-shorts with my iPod and wakazashi in my hand. I found Snake standing right outside the door and, for the second time that day, I walked straight into him. Thankfully, it was the front of him so I was caught in his arms instead of bounced off his back. I could tell he was either in shock, a state of worry or embarrassed because the muscles on his sides tightened and he wasn't breathing.

"Breathe," I suggest, looking up at him and placing my hands on his chest.

I watched his shoulder rise and fall as his arms released me. I smiled as I turned to blow out the candles by the bathroom door then blow out a few more around the room. After placing the bronze bowl full of ashes on my desk, I riffled through my backpack for my glasses-case, which I put on my left side table with my iPod and wakazashi, then threw my covers over me.


	12. Chapter 12

At the touch of his finger against my shoulder, my hands shoot up. I seized his wrist and turned onto my back, making it look as if I was still asleep while I moved him into the light of the four candles I'd left burning. However, I don't need to see his face to know who he was, he had already touched me.

"I was screaming, wasn't I?" I asked, opening my eyes to see Snake-eyes black-masked head nod. "Sorry." I looked away from him, but he turned it back and shook his head.

"You shouldn't be sorry for the thing you can't control," I heard a familiar raspy voice comment.

I released Snake's wrist and brushed a few locks of hair out of my face before reaching for my iPod. It was six A.M. on the dot, the normal time I would have waken up at if I was going for a jog or to the gym to spare with Mark and Uncle Ben. With my ankle the way it was, I would have to wait a few more days before I got back to doing any of that again.

"If you want breakfast you might want to get dressed," Storm recommended, rising out of the high back desk chair.

"Right," I agreed, kicking off my covers and throwing my legs over the side of the bed. "You two go ahead, I'll find my way there." That earned me a doubtful raised eyebrow from Storm. "You can't question the abilities you haven't seen."

"We were going to leave Timber to lead you anyway," Storm revealed, his gaze sweeping down my legs.

"Timber?" I asked as I inspected my ankle.

"He's a friend of Snake's," Storm replied, closing the door behind Snake and him. 

Well, that was vague, I thought as I strolled over to my closet. I yanked free a gray sleeved baseball-shirt and a pair of jeans from their hangers while I ran my fingers through my hair. After I tugged on the top and jumped into my pants, I jammed my feet into a pair of black Vans. Once my shoes were on, I redid my hands with the remanding medical supplies Jane had gotten for me then grabbed my glasses, wakazashi, and iPod off the bedside table. Before heading for the door, I did a once through my hair with the comb and scooped up my backpack off my deck. As I opened the door and stepped into the hall, I positioned my glasses onto my nose and placed everything else but my iPod in my backpack. When I turned away from the door, I briefly spotted a glimmer of something in my peripheral vision before it vanished down the hall and around a corner.

"Timber," I called, starting down the hall at a jog.

I held tight to an exposed pipe as I speed through the turn and come to an elevator. Inside the elevator, to my puzzlement, was something gray and black and stood on all fours. I rolled my eyes and shook my head as I boarded the elevator. The wolf turned his head and looked up at me as if he were asking, "Where to?"

"HOLD THE ELEVATOR!" My foot jams itself between the closing metal doors just as I heard a flute-like voice holler out the command. "Thanks."

"Welcome," I said, catching sight of cargo pants tucked into combat boots. "Going to breakfast?"

"Yeah," she said as the doors closed and the elevator moved up. "Flint is cooking this morning."

"Flint?" I asked, looking up at her brown-eyed, red-haired and lovely face.

"Oh, that's right. You're the new girl, you haven't gotten to know all of us yet."

"Not yet, but the few I have I can honestly say I like."

"That's good to hear. I'm Lady Jaye by to way."

"Maverick."

"I know. Welcome to The Pit"


	13. Chapter 13

I liked Jaye when she spoke her brain was on speaking terms with her mouth as my mom would have said. I took in to account that she didn’t ask me a single question until we were right outside the mess hall, “Are you going to spare later?”

“No,” I shook my head. “Not for another day or so, I injured my ankle during the escape.”

She nodded and entered the dining hall without another word, leaving Timber and I standing in the doorway. From here, I had a decent view of the seating arrangement. There were tables with bench seats, one was used to hold a buffet of food while the others had a few people talking and eating at them. While I looked for Snake, Storm, or even my mom, I scratched Timber’s head. I spotted my mom first but didn't move towards her because the big guy from yesterday was talking to her, actually to me it looked more like he was more whisper-yelling than talking. Before the man could feel my gaze, I glanced quickly away and tried to act as casual as possible while I strolled over towards the table of food. After I stacked my plate high with two pancakes and a load of bacon, I caught my mother’s attention. 

She gave me her best “What?” face. In response, I put my hand in front of my eyes and shook my hand then opened it to look as if I were throwing dice. She answered first with a befuddled expression but after I mouthed, “I can’t find Snake-eyes”, she smacks herself on the forehead and pointed to the table in the furthest corner from the door. I mouthed back a “Thank you” then hurried over to where the man in all white and the man in all black, minus the coat, sat with a bald sixty-year-old man in a crew-collar t-shirt, camouflage cargo pants, and army boots.

“Well isn’t this a wonderful surprise,” I said, not looking at the soldier for a second as I sat my self down next to Storm. “How’s that cholesterol of yours, Dad?”

“Still a little high but I’m eating better and getting more exercise,” Baldy replied, leaning over the table to give me a kiss on the forehead then looking down at my plate and over at Storm. “Still a pig eater.”

“Is that phrase meant to have more than one meaning?” Storm asked, glaring at my father.

“Can’t blame a man for speaking the truth.”

I don’t think anyone but Snake noticed my right fist ball then slam into my dad’s mouth and second before I whacked Storm on the back of the head. The same words “What was that for?” come out of their mouths at the exact same time as I was grabbing up my plate and the syrup off the table. 

“Because I don’t play well with people who don’t at least use the small amount of gray matter they were born with. Because I decided to eat something other than the beef jerky and granola in this backpack. Because I wish you two would act your ages and with some form of decency,” I rattled off as Snake got up and placed my plate back on the table.

Thanks to my ridged back, when Snake lifted me on to him shoulder my face didn’t hit his butt. I flicked my hair out of the front of my face, pulled my glasses off then deflated, blowing a lungful of hot air out my mouth, as he carried me out of the dining hall with my plate in his hand. I reached for my juice box, which Storm threw to me. As Snake hauled me through the halls, I went very losses, letting my upper body swing in time with his shifting steps.


	14. Chapter 14

It was late afternoon after my mom had shown me to the infirmary to jam pack my backpack with gauze. Snake was escorting me back to my room when it happened...

"WHERE IS IT?!?"

Snake began to push my behind him but I wasn't about ready to let him try to protect me. Nope, I ducked under his arm and I let the door slam against the wall before stepping into the room, my face a blank mask. In a swirl of long blonde hair, Lisa spun on her heels. In her right hand was something with a solid steel blade and a black leather cord wrapped handle, which met at an elaborate steel and onyx handguard, my katana.

"Well now," I said, getting her attention. "That all depends on what you're looking for, Lisa, now doesn't it?"

With one grand sweeping motion, the sword tip went from pointed to the floor to posed at the off-center of Snake's chest. I reached behind me, into my backpack, and wrapped my hand around something solid and leathery. I was doing my 360 stare into space thing and caught a flicker of motion over Snake's far shoulder just as Lisa warned, "Don't move."

"Put the sword down," I ordered, slapping the blade down with the metal-edged scabbard of my wakazashi. "And Mark, stay away from him or I'll kill the imp still holding my katana."

"As if I would believe that," he challenged, he voice uncharacteristically cold as he went in for a strike.

All four of us become a blur of movement. Snake took hold of Mark's arm, got in behind him, held the arm out by the wrist and shoved Mark down onto the hardwood floor. At the same time, I ripped free my scabbard and locked blades with Lisa, pushing her back before she tripped. The katana came free from her hand as her back hit flat against the flood. I heard my knees creak as I landed straddling her then knocked the sword away from her reaching hand.

"Too bad, I can't hurt you," she smirked.

"Oh, you've hurt me," I retorted, my voice cracking before my wakazashi impaled her through the chest. "It's just a different kind of pain."

I watched the life drain from her eyes before I shifted my weight and stood. As I stepped back from Lisa's lifeless body Mark began to struggle against Snake's hold. A meaningless effort if you asked me.

"You'll break your shoulder if you don't stop," I informed him, more emotion filling my eyes than coloring my voice, as I crouched down beside him and gripped his other shoulder and squeezed. "So I'll make you stop."

At first, his eye became unfocused then his whole body went rigid before going limp against the floor. Once Mark was subdued, the emotions that I'd been holding froze me in place. After tears started rolling down my face, Snake moved away from the door and reached for my shoulders.

"Why?" I whimpered as the wakazashi scabbard and I fell towards the hardwood floor. Though unlike the scabbard, when I dropped Snake caught me and held on as I cried myself into unconsciousness.


	15. Chapter 15

I woke up about two hours later on one of the three cots in the infirmary with Snake-eyes sitting on the other beside me, his masked face in his gloved hands. My nose wrinkled as I breathed in the sharp sent of disinfectant. My dry eyes blinked quickly, adjusting to the harsh florescence lighting. I knew Snake was watching me by the invisible weights that were pressing down top of me, but he didn't move as I curled up onto my side, hugging my pillow.

"So how's my Sleeping Beauty this fine evening?" my mother's voice chimed behind the curtain before her slender hand pushed it back.

"Awake," I stated, my voice monotonous.

"You have perfect timing kiddo, you know that?" she asked, sitting down behind me.

"Why would you say that?" I countered, unhooking myself from the pillow and flipping onto my back.

"Because Mark just woke up," she answered, taking my pulse. "Tell me what happen."

Jane was my mother; of course I told her everything. My voice was utterly monotone in the beginning but I guess that didn't take away from the story because her listened with a look of pure intrigue and occasionally reacted with a head nod or a sharp intake of air. I knew all those action were fake but they made me feel a little lighter. When I was finished, I laid there quietly while Jane nodded.

"Now I get it," she finally said, standing up.

"Get what?" I asked, sitting up.

"Why you two are acting so strange," she responded, gesturing in between Snake and I. "Too bad it wasn't my first guess, it would have save you both a lot of trouble."

I don't think she noticed my completely befuddled expression or Snake raised head because she left through the curtain without any further explanation. However, as I heard one the double doors open she said, "You might want to get her there soon Snake-eyes or Roadblock is going to have his way with the boy." I looked over at Snake, my expression unchanged, as he rose to stand and then held out a hand for me. I got my feet up under me and stood upon the cot before taking his extended hand and hopping down from the makeshift bed.

"Do you have any idea about what she's talking about?" I asked, absent-mindedly.

He let go of me hand but kept his in the air and rocked it side to side, the universal sign from "maybe".

"I guess that's sort of good," I joked, smiling half-heartedly ta the group.

Snake's hand fell lightly on my head, down the side of my face and took a firm but gentle hold of my chin. He lifted my chin, making me look straight at him. When Snake's hand fell from my face it grabbed my empty hand, my other clutching the top loop of my backpack, and squeezed it. I shook my head and rolled my eyes as he lead me out of the infirmary. I was surprised that even as we pasted several people, one being Jaye, he still held securely onto my hand.

I was unprepared for when he ultimately slipped his hand free from mine, it felt oddly bare with out him holding it. He'd stopped at a very plain looking door, the only thing insuring me that he knew we were in the right place were the black painted letters and number beside the door. I.R.2? What on God's green earth does that mean? I pondered to myself as he opened the door for me. Inside the cement walled room was a four person metal table with two uncomfortable looking metal chairs and on one of the walls was a one-way window, you basic integration room.

"I get it now," I blurted, walking over to the table and setting my backpack it cold metallic surface. "You want me to do the questioning?" He of course nodded as I dropped into a chair and rested my feet on the edge of the table. "Lets get it over with then, shall we?"

The door swung open as the words left my mouth and Mark was shoved into the room. I quickly reached into my backpack and pulled out my glasses plus a steel nail file. I was working over my thumb when he finally gave up banging on the door and noticed I was there. For a person with 20X20 vision, you sure are blind, I joked to myself.

"Great," Mark snarled, leaning against the door.

"Don't blame me for you actions, Mark," I warned, looking over the hand I'd just finished. "I told you I'd kill her if you attacked Snake. You attacked, I kept my word, and now we're sitting here."

"I thought you were bluffing," he tried to defend himself as his slide down to the floor. "I wouldn't have thought in a million years that you could hurt Lisa, let alone take her life."

"I was already going to kill her," I admitted, holding the file with the pads of my fingers at both ends.

"Why?" Mark asked, standing up.

"I clearly remember warning both you and Lisa that if you touched my stuff with out my permission you wouldn't see the next day," I said then pointed the nail file at the chair in front of me. "Now, sit."

I didn't get must out of him, it was like asking a child to do pre-calculus when they just learns how to add.The whole family had been working with Cobra, that was obvious and they had been tasked with the job of acquiring my necklace. But other than that, Mark just didn't know anything. Snake eventually had to remove me from the room before my inner bad cop took oven and I did something I would have regretted for the second time today.


	16. Chapter 16

As I eased myself into wake-ness, I reached across the bed and scratched Timber's belly. As I did, I looked around the room with hazy, blinking eyes. Weird, first time waking to a ninja free room in weeks, I mused, throwing my covers aside and leaping off the bed with the hint of a smile playing on my lips. I skipped over to the closet and went for my usual close fit jeans and a white tank top but added on an over-sized gray cardigan. After looking myself over in front of the full-length mirror I had across from my bed, I strode over to my desk and perched myself on an edge while I strapped on my leg-sheathes.

I turn over each sai in my hands, gazing down at them in deep fondness tainted with concentrated sorrow, each noticeably different from the next but made with one overall design. Colored leather cord wrapped handles, solid steel make, and a series of repeated charters scribed across the prongs and the double-edged blade. I weighed each one in my hands then slid them into their correct sheath. 

“Nor,” I breathed, placing the green in the outer left slot.

“Eas.” I positioned the yellow on my inner left.

“Sou.” Red outer right.

“Wes.” Blue inner right.

“Cen.” I withdrew my necklace and raked my eyes across the two rings that lay in my bandaged palm.

I lifted my palm a bit higher, forgetting about the rings, and looked over the quarter-sized red mark on the gauze. I rush to the bathroom and re-bandaged my hands, mentally scolding myself for being so forgetful last night. After that, I ran the comb through my hair and thought of how I would do my hair today. I settled on weaving the top half of my hair into a French braid headband of sorts, it kept the hair out of my face but let it flow down my back also, and the braid part extended from behind my right ear and slightly past my lefy elbow. After stepping into a pair of thick sole black leather boots, I grabbed up my backpack and opened the door for Timber.


	17. Chapter 17

Timber first brought me to the hanger, where the Cobra helicopter sat in pieces, and then to an elevator like a platform that as it went down you saw the passing floors. The bottom floor opened up into a multi-uses high-tech military training area with a simulator, firing range, weapons racks, driving course, and sparring mats. As I followed Timber further into the large space, the strange sounds I been hearing became clear audibly.

“Hh.”

“Ya.”

“Ha.”

“Huh.”

I leaned into my next step, unsheathing a sai, and hooked a finger between the tongs and blade. With a flick of my wrist, I grabbed hold of the worn leather and angled the blade adjacently to my forearm. From behind one of the many storage racks, I noticed the slightest movement of red and white. At the sight of the red, I withdrew a second sai and ducked low. I don’t need this right now, I thought remembering that the Cobra ninjas wore red. I paused at the bend, my back firmly against the metal rack, and peered around to the other side, at the two fighters. The one in white was obviously Storm Shadow. However, the other one looked nothing like a Cobra minion. The biggest differences was that the fighter was a female and her face wasn’t covered. Glossy hair fell past her shoulders and down her straight back like a black-waterfall that ended at her slender waist. I frowned inwardly, re-sheathing my sai, then removed my cardigan to tie it around my waist. I swiftly sat my backpack and myself by the mat.

I stretched and watched Storm ram his knee into the stomach of the unnamed woman with a smile lightly playing on my lips. Snake rounded the weapons rack and glanced at the fighters then let his gaze rest on me. Without lifting my head away from my knee, I waved back at him. He reacted in confusion or maybe it was amusement, with him it’s near impossible to tell which without getting closer to him. 

I studied the fighters' moves while keeping an eye on Snake, who shook his head at almost the same time I did when Red made a bad move. At that point in the fight, Snake’s knowledge of who would win drew him the rest of the way and placed him standing alongside me while I stretched out my arms.

“Kick out the feet, hand to the throat and force to the mat,” I muttered Storm Shadow’s finishing moves a moment before he executed them, winning me a turn of the head from Snake-eyes. “Strange how I can easily pick that out and she can’t.” I rose from the floor, securing my lose hair with a pony-tail- holder, as she strolled towards us. “You were really something…?”

“Jinx,” she replied, looking me over with keen eyes then shock over takes her calculating expression. “You’re Maverick?”

“Either word travels radically slow around here or a lot of you are just shy,” I commented, shaking my head at no one in particular.

“Better late than never,” she countered, walking away and disappearing behind the gun rack.

"More like the early bird catches the worm," I muttered quietly as her left.

I forgot about her quickly and joined a very fresh looking Storm Shadow on the mats. Thankfully, I had stretched and was feeling extremely limber because Storm’s first attempt at a blow came exactly as I entered striking distance. He’s kick was snail slow by my standards. This made it exceedingly easy to catch hold of his ankle, pull it towards myself as I took a half step to my right. With his balance broken, I swung my left leg so that it was over him then downward kicked him onto the mats. I glared down at him.

“Don’t…and I repeat…don’t…hold back…cause if you do…you will lose,” I growled at him then asked. “How about a wager? If I win I want one guaranteed favor, no questions asked.”

“A favor?” he repeated. “Fine, and if I win I want that kiss.”

“Whatever floats your boat, Storm,” I snorted.

I stood there casually, my feet shoulder length apart and my hands open at my sides. When Storm’s fist came around, I let it hit. I wanted to gauge his strength. And believe me, there is something good that come out of being knocked in the face when you can’t feel the pain, momentum. I spun around on the balls of my right foot, my face almost grazing the mat. I hooked onto the back of his neck with my left ankle, pulling him down face-first into the mat.

“You let me hit you,” Storm exclaimed, pushing himself back onto his feet.

“It’s not like I can feel it,” I remarked, hunger anger leaking out into my voice.

“Snake,” Storm called, getting his attention. “Switch?”

Snake shook his head then jerked his thumb over at the simulator. My bravo and jaw dropped while my eyes went nervously wide. Storm glanced over and smirked at my tense state of being.

“I don’t like guns,” I stated, shaking my head.

“Correction,” a deep familiar voice piped in, making all three of us turn our heads. “Grace is scared of guns.”

“How nice of you to join us, Old Man, would you like the next round?” I growled. “I’d enjoy knocking you around the mat a bit, exercise some of the excess anger that's been building over the years.”

“Respect you elder kiddo,” Joe warned, pointing a finger at me, as he took Storm’s place on the mats. “I’m not as sloppy as Rice Ball.”

“Respect is earned by a person’s action not their age,” I countered as we lowered ourselves into similar deep fighting stances. “Believe me, I’m going to make you yours.”

We stood there for so long, sizing each other up and waiting for the other to make a move, that we had drawn a crowd. When Joe finally threw his punch, I instinctively seized his wrist with my opposite hand and spun into him, my back coming against his chest. Once there, I rammed my elbow into his solar plexus then flipped him over my shoulders onto the mats on his back. As I quickly released Joe’s wrist and backed away, the crowd burst into cheers. I remained indifferent as I waited to see if Joe was going to get up.

At the moment my mom arrived and joined the audience, Dad curled his legs back to the point of touching his ears and then shoot them out, landing heavily on his feet. He didn’t stay standing very long before going at my legs with a sweeping kick. I vault backwards into a flawless back-hand-spring and dodged the kick, landing at the very edge of the mat. Not good. Step off the mats and instant Game Over, I thought as an “Oh” went through the gathering.

I knew what came next because I had myself posed for another back-flip and Joe don’t know the pickle he’d put himself in. As Joe’s leg came around for seconds, I leaned forward. Using his bald head as an extra push-off while fully airborne, I front-flipped over Joe and landed behind him. Before he could thoroughly straighten out of his crouch and turn, I pulled my knee into my chest and then slammed the sole of my boot straight into his back, forcing him a good five strides off the mat. I remained completely still for a decent amount of time. I stood effortlessly balanced on my left foot, using my left arm as a counterweight, my entire right leg horizontally in line with my back and parallel to my right arm. After slowly straightening myself to a vertical standing, I locked gazes with Joe then turn abruptly.

“Ring out you old fart,” I muttered, yanking the hair tie out. “Give my bow and quiver to Storm and Storm, you will find me and hand me said objects to me directly. Now, I don’t know about the rest of you people but I’m hunger.”


	18. Chapter 18

It had been an hour since my victory over my father when Storm came strolling into my room, ambidextrous compound bow in one hand and a worn black leather quiver filled with arrows slung over his shoulder. I looked up from my reading, the thick hardback I'd brought with me during my escape from Cobra. I smiled deviously at the sight of the bow and Storm's curious expression. I was off my bed in less than two seconds and in front of Storm, removing the holster from his shoulder. I arranged the quiver vertically aligned with my spine. When I'm fully situated, Storm hands me my bow.

"What were you reading?" Storm asked as he passed by Snake-eyes, who leaned against one of the small bookshelves I had.

"The Collective Works of William Shakespeare," I replied, glorifying it bit too much. "I just finished A Midsummer Night's Dream."

As I yanked back the bowstring with my left and held the handgrip firmly in my right Storm asked, "Who is your favorite character?"

"Punk," I stated as if it was a known fact and he was an idiot for not knowing it. "No other can compare."

Suddenly a knock came at my door causing all of our heads to turn in unison. I knew it wasn't Jane and it couldn't be Joe because they were together in the infirmary. I had dealt Dad some serious bruise worthy blows. So, who was it? We didn't have to wait long before that someone called out, "Anybody in there?"

"Yes, "I cheered, throwing both my fisted hands in the air. "Speak the devil's name and he shall appear."

I quickly pulled off the quiver and set it, alongside my bow, on my desk then slide on my slippery socks back to the door. When my eyes landed on the six-foot African American dressed in the standard issued army fatigues, E-4 racking on his collar, a smile the size of Jupiter broke out across my face. 

"Damn woman!" Ripcord exclaimed, taking my face in his hands. "Look at you!"

"It's good to see you too, Rip," I said, making my smile audible, as I removed his hands. "What are you doing here?"

"I'll show you..." Ripcord trailed off, his trademark smirk slipping, as Snake and Storm came and stood behind me. 

A second ticked by before the arrogant smirk was back and Ripcord was dragging me down the hallway. I held the elevator open long enough for Snake and Storm to slip in behind us, handing me my backpack and boots. I knew just by the expression on Rip's face that he didn't care for Snake or Storm's presence. Or maybe he just didn't like the fact that they were following me. Snake for some reason was very tense and, I guess, inpatient. He continued to shift slowly foot to foot, trying hard to make it look like he wasn't moving at all. Storm, along with myself, was the only one who acted outwardly calm and unfazed. When the doors finally opened it felt as if they were going grandma slow, I wanted out and so did Snake and Rip. They most defiantly would have mowed me down if I wasn't such a fast mover. 

"Wow," I breathed before I vaulted over the handrail that courted off the ramp from the working area. "Now this is what I call one seriously pimped out control room."

I didn't have to wait for Snake because he followed me over the railing and into a similar deep impact-absorbing crouch. I walked out of my crouch while Snake just rose to his feet. The guys, not thinking I would notice, watched me surprisingly closely as I strolled over to the massive computer built into the wall. As I began tapping away at the keyboards, Jane waltzed out of the elevator, and as I oh so easily smashed through their network's firewalls, Joe decided to make an appearance. 

"Amateur hour," I muttered as I ran a cross-reference search on my name, or names if I wanted to get technical.

I scrolled through each of the reports so fast it didn't even remotely look like I was reading any of it. There wasn't much there since for a good nineteen years it seemed like I had disappeared. I smiled knowingly and shook my head at that. There was zero about my necklace so I guessed I needed another Cobra capture to get to their intel.

"Well that was a waste," I grumbled.

"Sorry, sweety," a deep familiar voice apologized, a hand resting its self on my shoulder. "We're almost as blind as you are in this situation." 

"Your firewalls are crap," I droned, my voice completely monotone, as I retraced my keystrokes. "And just for the record, don't call me sweety. Kay, Conrad?"

"I'll tell that to Breaker, they're his firewalls," Duke countered, hand falling. "And, hello to you too, Maverick."

"I would rather like to ask you why you aren't laying six-feet-under in an oak box, or is it pine?" I snapped, turning around and getting in his face. Duke, like the other males here, was a few inches taller then I was so getting in his face required me to rise onto my tiptoes. 

"Calm down, Maverick," Duke said in an exhale of breath, pushing me back down. "I was mispronounced, I wasn't dead but in a very deep coma."

I knew the battle of emotions that was going on inside me was also playing across my face. I can only guess how surprised everyone was when I attack-hugged him and lifted him a good inch off the floor for a second. In retrospect, the hug was relatively short so when I let him go I asked, "Who's Breaker?" After rearranging our selves, Duke stood beside/ behind me and pointed over my shoulder at the short Middle Eastern man talking to Lady Jaye.

"Dude looks like he just stepped off the Borg mother ship," I commented, referencing Star Trek.

"Yeah, but without the gray complexion," Duke amended, dropping his arm. I nodded in agreement, waiting for Jaye to leave. "But you're going to have to wait until the meeting is over before you can tell him anything."


	19. Chapter 19

Duke called everyone to attention and everybody started moving/ circling around a strange multimedia viewer. Joe and I placed our selves on either side of Jane while Snake and Storm stood behind me, it was the closest I had seen them together and getting here was the first time I had seen them ride in the elevator at the same time. I shook my head at myself, knowing I was reading too far into it. 

"I take it most of you have met Maverick?" Duke assumed, gesturing to where I was standing. "In the past weeks, Cobra has been actively trying to make a grab for her necklace, for reasons we are yet to know. I purpose we put her back in the public eye, lure that bastard Cobra Commander out of the hole he's hiding in."

"Where would I be going?" I inquired, my face an uncaring mack.

"Florida, with a small team made out of the people you see in this room," Duke answered, motioning to everyone with a sweep of his hand.

"Specific place."

"Jane's farmhouse should be big enough for all of us."

"Oh."

"Why 'oh'?"

"I just thought you'd like to see where I was for those unaccounted nineteen years. Though it would have to be a small group, the rest would have to stay with Jane."

"How many is a 'small group', Maverick?"

"Three along with myself."

After a moment of thought, Duke nodded in agreement and asked for a raise of hands for volunteers. The hands rose like this: Snake-eyes, Jane, Storm Shadow, Lady Jaye, Flint, Breaker, Ripcord, Roadblock, Heavy Duty, and lastly Duke. Jinx was there but thank whatever God or gods are out there that she didn't make a move to put up her hand. No offense to her, but I honestly couldn't trust the woman as far as I could throw her.

"Okay then," Duke finalized the conversation. "You all have an hour to have your bags packed and have your asses in the hanger or we're leaving you here."

As everyone was filing out, Duke caught Snake by the arm as he passed. Duke seemed to whisper something to Snake. However, I couldn't quite make out what Duke was asking him while Storm lead me up the ramp. My free hand clamped down on the railing before Storm got me into the elevator. I fixed Storm with a look that made him stop pulling. Once I was done with that, my gaze moved back to Snake across the room from us. 

When he finally caught my concerned eyes, he signed from me to go without him and he would be okay. It took a second to figure out what his gestures meant because I was pretty rusty with my sign language. I signed back that I'd see him later and that he better be at the hanger because I didn't want to have to leave without him. I allowed Storm to tow me away after a final okay from Snake.


	20. Chapter 20

The aircraft we got to ride in was a modified Osprey and I was so glad Ripcord was our pilot. Too bad, no matter how hard I strived to entertain myself, the long ride was agonizingly boring. Therefore, when we arrived at Patrick Air Force Base I was particularly tossing people out of my way out. I hurried onto the runway, bags in hand and my katana strapped across my back, and dropped to my knees, placing a kiss on the Tarmac. My black and red Shelby Boss Cobra sat yards away from where we had landed beside Jane's custom Ford Raptor and a plain black van. 

"Ben drove it down with Mark," Jane explained grimly, holding out a set of keys. "Get off the ground and put your stuff up, the guys can survive for a minute or two without you."

I obeyed, picking up my singular duffel and slinging my backpack over my shoulder, and gave her a long one-sided hug before I sprinted towards my car. I popped the trunk and unlocked the doors using the small remote that I removed from the keychain Jane had given me so the car couldn't start without me in it. I chucked my bags into the way back of the trunk, leaving room from the guys' luggage, and pulled my iPod out. I walked around to the front of the vehicle and laid myself down in the middle of the hood. With my ankles crossed and my fingers laced behind my head, I rested, Dance, Dance by Fall Out Boy blaring in my ears and my foot tapping out the beat. I barely noticed the sound of the horn over the bass and guitar in The Good Left Undone by Rise Against. I rolled onto my stomach, propping myself up on my elbows, and raised an eyebrow at Duke through the windshield.

"Do you seriously want my battery to die?" I yelled at him over both horn and music.

I pulled out my earbuds a second before he let off the horn. I shifted into an upright seated position then leaped off the hood. I covered a big yawn with my hand as I asked, "So, who's sitting with me in the back?"

"Timber and Snake-eyes," somebody answered as I squeezed myself through the third door.

As Snake wedged his self in, I had Timber standing on my lap. The wolf compared to its size must have weighed close to a hundred pounds so I was grateful to Snake for moving as quickly as he did. I was particularly asleep by the time everyone was situated. I passed Duke up my iPod so he could hook it up to the car's stereo. My eyes closed to the opening of Clint Eastwood by Gorillaz.


	21. Chapter 21

When I woke, from a good hour-long catnap, I found my head laying on Snake's thigh and him lightly shaking my arm. I sat up slowly, acknowledging the fact I hadn't eaten in a while and my head would start to spin for my low blood sugar if I went any faster. Just outside the car's windshield loomed a massive two-story blue, white and gray farmhouse with a wide wraparound porch.

"Are Duke and Storm already inside?" I queried, absentmindedly undoing my French braid.

Snake seemed to hesitate before he nodded. Exiting that automobile was much easier than entering it, I thought as Snake passed me my backpack and then my duffel. As I rushed up the porch steps, the front door swung open and I was sent back a step out of surprise. 

"God, don't let these men be the death of me," I spoke out loud to myself, pressing my free hand against my heart.

"Let's just pray we all make it through Cobra's obsession over your necklace without any life-threatening injuries, kay," Duke remarked, slipping out of the house and disappearing around the corner.

I was utterly stunned by his tone, steely seriousness replaced his normal flamboyance. After standing there stupefied for a good long while, I felt Snake's presence close behind me. I nodded my head in agreement, not caring if Duke would see, then walked into the house. When we got to the living room, I dropped my bags beside my favorite seat in the house, a black velvet upholstered wingback chair. I was falling into the chair over an armrest when Storm Shadow came gallivanting in with a bright red apple in one hand and a plump tangerine on a saucer in the other. As Snake turned on the T.V., Storm tossed me the apple then settled himself on the loveseat across from me while Snake sat on the couch between us. As Snake was channel surfing something caught all three of ours' attentions so he turned up the volume.

"Holy hellfire," I breathed as the female report began saying. "Firefighters are baffled by the unexplainable becomings of this infernal blaze that have taken Garrett's, a renowned hotspot with D.C. locals. It is still unknown just how this fire began, why it didn't spread to the other surrounding businesses, or what may be the message behind such a personal attack. Theories have surfaced among employees over whether this has anything to do with the owner's, Grace Colton's, disappearance weeks prior. Police report no deceased were found at the scene..." I could feel their eyes on me, waiting from my reaction, as I continued to munch away at my apple.

As I rose from my oh so comfortable chair I smirked at the television screen, "He doesn't know how off he is, does he? So what he burns down my bar, big whop, I have more important things to deal with now that I'm almost home."

"A direct attack and you think nothing of it," Storm stated in disgust, following me into the kitchen with Snake close behind him. "Have you lost your mind?"

I stopped dead in my tracks, the question hitting me like a brick wall, "I've never considered myself to be moderately close to sanity, Storm. Nevertheless, my feelings towards Garrett's are completely rational. I don't care about the wellbeing of inanimate objects as I do for the beings that are actually alive." I turned as I said these words and met their eyes full on. "Would you rather I be emotionally scarred from the fact I no longer have my wakazashi or that I will forever be haunted by the memory of stilling Lisa's heart and watching the life drain from her eyes?"

I watched Storm's face as it took on an expression that looked as if I'd just slapped him, I felt the tear as it rolled down my cheek. I didn't make a move to whip away the droplet, just asked in a thick voice, "Is there anything else I need to clear up before tomorrow night, cause the others just got here?" They shook their heads and that was the end of that. So, I grabbed my backpack and went to see where Duke went off to.


	22. Chapter 22

After I had searched every inch of the outer perimeter of the house, I gave up looking for Duke and just started off towards the enormous barn that stood out of sight from the house. If I hadn't already known where it was I would have never found it, the barn was that well hidden. The few people I've brought here didn't know where I was taking them until we were practically inside, cause that's when the smell hits you. 

In my thirty-one years of life, I've come to notice most people find the scents that come with owning a barn filled with horses to be very... revolting. To me, it was the complete opposite. These were my stables. These were my horses. Well, technically the horses I kept here were only two-thirds of all the horses I owned but still.

When I heaved open the shrieking, rusty barn, I winced at the shrill sound and frowned at the lack of repairs. The guilty feeling over the doors didn't last long. In the next moment, the oder of horse dander filled my nose and I was closing the doors I'd just entered before the thought had crossed my mind. I marched to the end of the barn, earning the attention of the horse in every stall I passed, then shoved the backdoors open with one booted foot. Ignoring the doors screams, I strode into the corral and gave it a thorough inspection. When I deemed the wood was sturdy, I returned to the stables and opened the first stall door. I made sure I had a good hold on the horse's guide rope, knowing this particular horse was prone to over-excitement, before directing it into corral then examined the cubicle.

"Vers Libre, Jane has been seriously slacking, hasn't she?" I said to the bay Gotland mare who shakes her heads vigorously up and down. 

After enjoying a good laugh at that little spectacle, I tied my hair back into a loose ponytail, swopped out my leather boots for rubber ones, and then armed myself with the one the hoses that reached from corral to entrance. I placed my backpack on the stool I removed from stall then carefully aimed the hose, blasting the sludge to the back corner into the drain.

I was finishing off Vers Libre's stall when I began to feel the presence of someone else in the barn, the hairs on the back of my neck came to attention. I exited the stall and stood facing the corral. I kinked the hose and then bent over to readjust my pants legs. In a flash of movement, I swung up my leg high enough to kick whoever it was in the chin but this person was fast with their hands and caught my ankle firmly in their grasp, by the feel of their hand I knew who it was. 

"Impressive grappling, Snake," I praised him, flicking the strands of hair out of my face. "I guess you're just a little faster than other guys in some areas."

"Oh, cut it out you two," Duke called from the corral, the joking tone firmly in place. "Go be suggestively aloof with Snake somewhere else Grace."

I looked over at Duke in disbelief as I mouthed the word 'seriously'. Storm, of course, had to put in his two cents, "Maverick's coyness has nothing to do with what you're implying". During some part of Storm's attempt to defend me, Snake lowered my foot and both ninjas had put themselves closer than I would have normally been comfortable with if it was anyone else. By now, I was used to both Snake and Storm not allowing me complete personal space and looming over me protectively even though they knew I was more than capable of taking care of myself.

"Hey, do any of you know where Timber is?" I asked, getting an all-around no.

Just like that, as if knowing he was needed, the black and gray wolf came racing in and stopped in front of us. I stood there dumbfounded and puttered for a moment. Duke and Storm began to chuckle at my loss of words. After calming what I could of my anger, I thrust the hose into Storm's chest and then ordered, "Stalls. Rinse out." I turned and took hold of a still snickering Duke's ear. I ignored his complaints as I yanked him to the other hose and set him to work on spraying down Vers Libre and the other horses.

After I removed all the horses from their stalls I tied them to the posts that made up the corral. Once I was done with that I began to search for Snake. I found him standing beside my second favorite horse. I had two Percheron, an all-black gelding named Heroic and a gray mare called Epic. As I came up beside Snake, I wasn't surprised to see Heroic being just as cautious as Snake was. I was shaking my head and smiling into the back of my hand as I walked over and grabbed a bucket hanging in storage. I hide a carrot behind my wrist then pass it off to Snake.

"Carrots are Heroic's Achilles heel," I explained, walking up to the massive draft horse. "Epic has more of a sweet tooth."

I grabbed a sugar cube from the bucket and held it in my palm, offering it to the horse. Epic happily took it from me, I laugh at how her lips tickle my hand. Snake snapped the carrot into fours and offered them to Heroic sparingly. When Storm and Duke finished, I paired Storm with my albino Andalusian mare Tanka and put Duke with the bay Vladimir Heavy Draft gelding dubbed Stanza.

"Okay guys, do any of you not know how to ride a horse, be honest it could mean your death if you're not?" I inquired, passing out brushes.

"I think I can speak for all three of us when I ask, why are we riding horses when we can just drive?" Duke countered.

"Because where we're going technology is seen as a weakness and a substitute for the power found in one's own body or that of another living thing's. Because I only let you drive my car that one time due to the fact I was dealing with serious jet lag. Because you three don't need the extra shunning that isn't already associated with the fact that you're outsiders. My rank is only going to help with getting you guys in but you will have to defend each other while we're there. If it's anything like I remember we might have to fight our way out."

All three of them went still at that then slowly turned their heads towards me. I ignored their prying stares and heaved myself onto Epic's back, undoing her French braided mane. I was weaving Epic's dark green ribbon back into her mane in an artful braid that kept her hair out of her eyes. I guess the guys finally couldn't stand being ignored so Storm and Duke asked/yelled, "A little more information please, Maverick?"

"No," I smirked and that was the end of that.


	23. Chapter 23

The sun had already set by the time Duke, Snake, Storm, and I were done grooming our partnered horses. When we got back to the house, of course, I thought someone would have had dinner cooking or at least served by now. Sad to say, we found the remaining Joes crowded around the TV watching a football game, cheering so loudly I had to cover my ears at one point.

The guys easily found different areas around the room to occupy. Duke took up the other half of the loveseat beside Ripcord. Snake sat in the wing-chair hunched over with his elbows on his knees, looking as if he was actually paying attention to the game. Storm just leaned against a far wall not watching the TV at all and spinning a throwing star between his thumb and index finger. I, on the other hand, could hear my stomach over the blaring TV so I rushed to the kitchen like I had been poking a bear with a stick, the bear was waking up and the only place to hide was the kitchen.

The kitchen at Jane's had a gas stove/oven, a double-door refrigerator, and a two-sided stainless-steel sink. It was also decked out with black granite countertops, dark wood cabinets with steel fixtures, and an L-shaped island in the middle of it with four matching barstools around the outer side. This was my kitchen since Jane couldn't cook an egg to save her life. Speaking of Jane, from the kitchen there was a perfect view into the dining room where Jane was set up with one of her romance novels and glass of her favorite red wine.

I decided, since someone usually made dinner for everyone else, if I were to cook I would make enough for everybody. I was combing through lower cabinets when Storm came to see where the extra noise was from. I was out of direct eyeshot so I had no idea how he figured it was me.

"What are you looking for, Grace?" he asked, seating his self on one of the outer stools.

"I'm trying to find my stew pot," I answered, opening the next and there the massive cast iron pot was. "Found it!"

"You going to attempt to make dinner?" Storm doubted.

"I am going make dinner, Mr. Vote of Conference," I retorted, filling the pot under the sink.

After I had the pot filled, I set it on the burner and flipped on the gas. I grabbed an arm full of noodle packages from the pantry and brought them over to the counter beside the stove. I tore the bags open by their flap in the back and don't bother breaking the squares just put them into the pot whole.

"What's you cooking, Good-looking?" my mother rhymed, landing a quick kiss on the cheek after she refilling her wineglass.

"Noodles," I replied, withdrawing a pair of extra-long chopsticks, to agitate the pasta with, from the utensil drawer. "There's not much else I can cook."

"You bake, Mavey," Jane stated, taking hold of my shoulders.

I smiled at her but something seemed to catch her attention. After prodding the noodles one more time, I turned to see what it was she was so perplexed about. I didn't have to search very hard, he was standing across the island like a statue. 

"You okay, Snake?" Jane inquired as she turned her eyes on me.

"Do not worry yourself, Jane," Storm muttered down at the granite, "Snake is just now noticing something that has been under his nose the entire time."

Without answering Jane, Snake turned on his heels and strode out of the kitchen and I could hear him as he escaped up the stairs. That was weird, Snake normally moved with the silence of still air and wouldn't cause notice unless he wanted you to know he was there. I passed my chopsticks off to Jane and told Storm, "Make sure she doesn't start any fires". All the eyes that had been on the TV were on me as I climbed the stairs. I located the room Snake was hunkered down in easily since there was only one door closed. 

I stood in front of the door for a minute but to me it felt more like an hour, trying to get my knuckles to make contact with the wood of the door. When I finally did knock, it was a series of three raps and that was it. There was no need to knock on it again since it was impossible that Snake hadn't heard me. Snake's sudden opening of the door causes me to flinch. 

Calming myself again enough to sneak a glance at Snake while under his intense stare proved ten-times harder than if he were Storm. I think Snake got tired of me just standing that because, before I knew it, he grabbed my arm, not brutally but forcefully enough to get a good grip on me. He pulled me into the room then started signing in a whorl of gestures that I only caught half of.

"Way too fast, Snake," I complained as I took hold of his writs. "I might know what you're trying to tell me if you went a bit slower, please."

I watched as his chest rose and fell in a deep breath. Before getting to what he really wants to "say", Snake apologized for gabber-handing then launched into a questionnaire. When and how did Storm figure out that we knew each other? When did I finally find out who he was? How can I prove I was who I said I was?

"I believe Storm put the pieces together either before or around the time we got into the helicopter," I answered, moving to then sitting on the full-sized bed that was the only other piece of furniture in this guest room beside a small dresser. "As for me, it was when he traded me off to you in the elevator. You know how most people can only recognize a person by their face?" He nodded. "Well, I can also tell who someone is by their hands. Yours felt vaguely familiar and then the picture became clear. As for proving who I am, the first time we meet I was an eight-year-old girl coming back from grocery shopping and you pulled me into an ally-"

"Maverick," Storm's voice ripped through the house. "You might want to get down here soon."

"I can't even leave that woman supervised without her setting something on fire," I groaned, shaking my head.

I hadn't even noticed Snake standing in front of me and bumped into him as I tried to get up off the mattress. I didn't move due to the fact my face was probably red as a tomato but I couldn't control Snake. His hands moved up to my upper arms and he took a step backwards, putting a bit of space between us. One of Snake's hand left my shoulder and reach behind himself to search inside one of the many pockets of his cargo pants. When his hand came back around, clasped in between his index and thumb were two things I thought I had lost a long time ago.

The day after I'd become "friends" with Snake, Jane had stormed into Wu's apartment and told me we had to leave immediately. That is Jane speak meant, "We're leavening now and don't bother packing, I'll buy you more stuff when we're home." That also meant leaving behind all the souvenirs I'd bought while in Japan. Held in Snake hand the only one Wu hadn't been able to find and ship to me, a pair of hairpins that resembled chopsticks. One was the shade of over oxygenated blood with black lettering the sides and the other looked like a piece of bamboo.

"That's where they went," I exclaimed before a genius idea popped into my head. "Since you've held on to those for some twenty years, would you mind holding onto something else for me?"

Snake stayed completely still for a generous minute before nodding.

"Great," I cheered as I took the pins from him and twisted my hair into a bun, securing it to the back of my head using the pins."I love it when a plan come together easily."

Once my hair was out of the way, I looped a finger under the heavily tarnished chain at the nape of my neck. I pulled the chain to the side then lifted it over my head. In my hand, the contents held on the chain pooled in my bandaged palm. One silver ring with a sapphire centered between two tiny diamonds and a plain circlet of amethyst, my two most prized possession and I was surrendering them to Snake.

"I trust you, Snake," I stated, holding out the necklace towards him. "My trust is an easy thing to lose. Therefore, didn't give me an inkling of a reason to believe I've invested my trust wrong or I promise you I'll come collect my necklace back from your still, lifeless body. Got that?"

Snake nodded, taking the necklace firmly into his grasp. What he did with it afterwards, I don't know.


	24. Chapter 24

If someone were to ask me for my mother's most annoying tendency, I would answer by telling them one of the many long-winded stories about her attempting to boil water and unintentionally burning down a good-sized chunk of the house. Therefore, it wasn't so surprising that, when Snake and I walked into the kitchen, I was unfazed at the sight of Jane flinging around a flaming towel. With a groan that earned me a few head-turns, I trudged into the kitchen. After shoving Roadblock out of the way of Jane, I snatched the towel from her and tossed it in the sink. Still, visibility annoyed, I grabbed the fire-extinguisher I kept under the sink for occasions exactly like this. Pin pulled and nozzle pointed at the inside of the sink, I clamped my hand down on the trigger and outshoot a stream of creamy chemical foam killing the flames. After a short groan/raspberry, I turned towards Storm with the extinguisher still in one hand.

"Don't let me get to three," I threatened him then caught Jane's eye. "Be ready for a patient with hemorrhaging or serious head trauma. One..."

"Scatter!" someone shouted, causing everyone but Snake, Jane, Storm, and Duke to rush out of the kitchen.

All five of us just stood there for a moment and then it was like someone flipped a switch. I went from furious to uncaring. Snake loosened up. Duke reverted back his devil-may-care attitude. And at the same time, Storm and Jane became annoyed.

"That's better," I said as I placed the fire-extinguisher back into its cabinet. "Too many cooks in my kitchen."

For that little statement, I earned two eye rolls, Duke and Jane, and a pair of shaking heads, Snake, and Storm. I smiled at their reactions as I took the long chopsticks Jane had apparently tossed carelessly onto a countertop. When I looked into the pot to see how bad the noodles were, what I saw almost made my eyes fall out and join them.

"Mom," I whined, lifting the pot off the burner. "Storm, the cup of chopsticks in pantry. Snake, there are bowels in the third cabinet to my right."

After I set the pot on the island counter, I started going at the clumped up noodles Jane had visibly neglected to stir. I tried my hardest to ignore Snake when he began placing bowels in front of me and only glanced at Storm when he set down the chopsticks. I smiled at myself and my skill before I got down to dividing up the noodles and broth amongst the twelve bowels. I turned to Duke who saluted then hurried to get the others. Once everyone had their noodles and utensils, I snatched up a bowel pilled high, a pair of chopsticks, two bottles of root beer, my backpack, and my katana before making a bee-line form my room. I was halfway up the stairs before I noticed three head bobbing up behind me. I stopped for a second, deciding whether to let them follow or not, then shook my head and continued upward. My room, along with Jane's, was on the third-floor attic-like area of the house and was the model behind the room I had at the Pit. However, unlike its doppelganger, this room's furnishing was of far different inspiration.

"Damn, it looks like rainbow-Japan threw up in here," Duke jested, earning him a swift whack in the back of the head from me.

"Don't poke fun at my room," I warned, walking to the low-table in the far corner between the doors leading to my personal bathroom and a mound of different colored pillows I used as my bed. "It hasn't changed since I was ten."

Around the table were four overstuffed cushions, I seated myself upon my favorite lavender one and motioned for the others to the remaining three. Duke took the jade-green butt-pillow across from me while Snake surveyed the room. Storm seemed to take a liking to the raincloud-gray cushion to my left and lower himself onto it. I was popping off my bottle's cap using the edge of the table when Snake finally decided to join the three of us, seating himself on the pale green-blue pillow to my right.

"Do you consider yourself by any means like your dad?" Storm asked before taking a tasting from his bowel.

"A bit more than I would like," I grumbled after swallowing a gulp of root-beer. "The only thing I honestly got from Jane was my attention to details."

"How so?" Storm pried, taking a sip from a glass of what looked like iced green tea.

"I'll show y'all later, let me eat first," I complained, shifting my hold on my bowel so I could wave away his question.

"Just tell us," Duke sort of ordered but sounded too tired to be threatening.

"Fine," I said around a mouthful of noodles, setting down my bowel.

The guys watched me intensely as I run my finger across the rim edge of the table. When I found what I was looking for I glanced up and meet each of their eyes. I smile at the foreseeable kick I was going to get at this as I eased the triggering mechanism in. My hand moved so rapidly from the button to the butterfly knife that popped out from the center of the table.

"I've developed quite the habit of hiding weapons around the house thanks to Joe," I informed them as I passed the knife to Snake, who wasn't eating and most likely wouldn't as long as I was awake.

"Bet Jane hates that," Duke smirked.

"Not really," I tell them. "Jane understands the value of being within arm's reach of a Colt-45."

"I thought you made it clear that you hate guns?" Storm challenged, looking at me sideways.

"Jane has her own opinion on the best form of weaponry," I mumbled around the lip of my root-beer bottle. "I prefer my sai and katana highly over 380 Bersa any day."

"For a girl who hates guns, you sure know the names to quite a few of them," Duke pointed out, another wicked smile overtaking his features.

"Ignorant is an adjective I will never willingly allow myself to be described with," I stated, finishing the last of my bowel's contents. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to bandage my hands."

After that little tidbit, I gracefully rose and moved around the table trying not to disturb Storm, Duke, and Snake. I unloaded a portion of the medical supplies I'd crammed into my backpack and grabbed the brass basin that I kept beside my bed. When I was younger changing my gauze was Jane's job until I got fed up with being babied by my mommy. I was kind of forgetful in those days so keeping the basin there would easily remain me to do my hands when I woke up each morning.

As I always do, I settled myself down in the approximate middle of the room with everything spread out in front of me. I started with my right, slowly unraveling the soiled gauze. With my naked hand over the basin, I doused my palm with the alcohol and waited for the majority of it to dribble off. I wrapped my hand in a trance-like state and became hyper-aware of Snake gazing over my shoulder. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself for some strange reason, and began the taping. After repeating the whole process for my left, I snatched up the matchbox. I held the match I'd lite a little longer than needed before letting it drop into the big bowel.

I knew it was going to happen before the others did. That's the reason why I got far enough back before a three-foot burst of flames shot out the basin. The whole world went still for a second and then Snake's hands were coddling my cheeks, probably to check for injuries.

"What the hell was that?" Duke exclaimed.

"A warning," I babbled, concentrating more on halting the slight shudders that take my body.

"A warning for what?" Duke questioned a bit more soothingly.

"Something big enough to caught me off guard," I stammered, still in shock.

"Since you seem to know what it means then this must have happened before," Storm concluded.

I closed my eyes and nodded, "It happened before I went to Garret's the days you were there Storm. I don't know why it happens but I'm kind of glad it does, saved my butt more times then I can count."


	25. Chapter 25

I lumbered towards the house, the massive body on my back making it difficult to venture the lengthy distance. I could feel something thick and wet dripping down the spine of my shirt, causing it to stick to me. Even as my legs turned to putty, I continued to lug this hefty person, paying zero attention to the stabbing pain that impaled my legs with every step. 

When I got to the porch, I turned slowly around and crouched down so I could place the person on the steps. I traded off my holds from their thighs to their shoulders as I span around to face them. As my eyes focused on their face, its form and features began to flicker. Duke to Storm, Storm to young Snake. When their lips began to move, I dropped onto my aching knees and coddled their pained faces in my shaking hands.

"You... can't... save-"

I was yanked out of sleep, crashing to the floor with my shoulder and hip taking most of the impact. I laid there a moment completely puzzled, Why didn't they finish? After my second of wonder, I hurled myself to my feet, unsheathing a sai in the process. Before I could fully turn, I was plowed into at the back and sent to the floor. A head-butt, I thought. As I proceeded to rock my head forward and away from my attacker, the sound of a gun firing rang through the room. I didn't hesitate, I shoved off then frowned at the limp body that had held me to the ground. I quickly patted my person down before surveying the damage to my attacker. A man dressed in all red laid there, blood pooling at his head. A loud groan and creak sounded from the direction of my bedroom door. I swung my head away from the body to the door and found my black-masked savior leaning heavily of the frame. I raced over and caught him under the arms before he could nosedive into the floor. Snake's pistol clattered to the ground as he lifted his hands to my face then placed our foreheads together.

"Yourself," the trio of voices spoke in unison.

"Maverick!"

My mother's banshee-like cry cut me free from the bridge cable ties to the dream world and sent me jackknifing into a seated position on the bed. My throat felt as if it was stuffed full with cotton which confirmed that I'd screamed more than usual. As I attempted to get my breathing under control, I swallowed loudly, trying to dislodge the lump in my throat.

"Sorry," I apologized, my body still slightly quaking. "Prophetic ones can get really bad."

"That what you meant by tight spiritual connection?" Storm asked from the foot of my bed, earning himself a silent nod.

"Jane has a more logical explanation though," I turned to my mom, who was still robotically rubbing my shoulder. "Care to tell them your thoughts on my condition mom?"

"Usually Maverick can repress her fear behind the walls Grace provides with her bravery and witty speeches, "Jane explained, snapping out of her personal fog. “However, when Maverick is asleep, Grace's walls disappear, and Maverick is left defenseless to deal with the event of her dreams."

"That makes sense to me," Duke stated before sauntering over to my already open door.

"I suggest we all give Mavey some privacy and time before asking her any more questions," Jane offered, cutting off Storm's attempt to speak.

"Just let me get dressed," I grumbled, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. "I'll be down before I'm missed too badly."


	26. Chapter 26

After all three of them filed out of my room, I was left wondering where Snake was. I shook my head roughly, derailing that train, and crawled out of my mound of pillows and towards my closet. From their hangers I ripped an outfit that wasn't what anyone would expect me to wear, a dark blood red short-sleeve V-neck, a pair of jean shorts that made me glad about shaving my legs before bed, a black leather belt, black thigh high socks, a pair of leather ankle boots, and a red leather-wrapped and black carbon blade wakazashi. After re-bandaging my hands, I pulled back the front half of my hair and secured it out of my face with an elastic. As I grabbed my backpack from beside the low-table where I had abandoned it for the night, I began to hear something sniffing my door. I smiled down at the mixed coat wolf that I found behind my door. Trailing my empty hand down his back, I exited the room and halted at the sound of the door closing as my hand met the staircase banister. 

"Who's in my kitchen?" I asked rhetorically, clinching my wakazashi to the point of my knuckles turning white.

I ghosted down the stairs, footsteps silenced by the convenient carpeting. I halted at the entryway between the living room and kitchen before broadening my peripheral viewing range. I was puzzled by the sight of Storm and another slightly recognizable face puttering around the kitchen. With the audibility of a falling feather, I glided through the entryway and perched myself on top of a barstool. As I quietly sat, I studied the man that baffled me with his familiarity. His dark-chocolate brown hair hung a bit long in the front and appeared messy like he'd been running his fingers through it excessively. Set into a deeply scarred face was a pair of eyes that screamed with a shade of light brown of remarkable familiarity. He wore a plain black crew-neck, dark jeans, and hiking boots. I'd been seated for a decent ten minutes before those familiar eyes met my calculating gray.

"Morning, Maverick," Storm blurted, capturing my attention. "How do you want your eggs?"

"Like my brain at the moment," I mumbled, pressing my cold fingers against the sides of my face.

"Scrambled it is," Duke piped in, acquiring the stool to my left. "So, you up for a little dream telling, Mav?"

I moaned, crossing my arm on the surface in front of me and resting my forehead where they overlapped. The dream-event-recall was gradual, the beginning was a bit murky but transparent enough to relay if I allowed myself the time of think between statements. My head rose from my arm in time for me to catch Duke's and Storm's gazes to meet in a glance as I described who made up the wounded flickering person.

"Do we die?" Duke asked.

"The scene was cut short before I could-" Storm cut me off.

"What happened next?" Storm insisted, returning to his cooking.

I continued, depicting the next events. Fall off the bed, more like pushed. Attempting to stand only to be shoved to the floor. Petrifying gunshot. Dead Cobra red. Snake-eyes in the doorway with a pistol, injured.

"Typical," Storm shook his head.

"What's typical?" I inquired, the weight of my words slowing my brain.

"Snake gets the glory of saving the day... or is it night since it was a dream?" Duke answered/asked.

"Don't ask me anything for the next few minutes, my head hurts too much to answer," I admitted as Storm slid a steaming plate of eggs in front of me. "Thanks, salt and pepper please."

"Snake," Jane's voice reached the kitchen before she did, "Roadblock needs you for a moment."

After that, the familiar face that I was trying to put a name to had one. Snake washed his eggy hand before striding out of the room, drying them with the towel he took with him. I succeeded in hiding my frustration long enough for Snake to leave the kitchen. When he was gone, my face slacked in indifference a second before slamming my fists onto the granite counter. I had failed to identify him before Jane's entrance.

"You didn't recognize him?" Storm asked, looking a bit too happy.

"I did but couldn't connect his face to his name," I clarified, angrily sprinkling seasoning upon my eggs.


	27. Chapter 27

When Snake returned, I was sprawled out on my chair, finished with my second helping of scrambled eggs and having a hard time retrieving my glass of water off the coffee table without getting up. Storm and Duke's disgruntled mutters from the kitchen were thankful blotted out by the sound of the morning news. I gave in to the stupidity of my laziness and got up enough to fetch my drink and fall back into my seat only to notice I wasn't alone and the mutters had ceased. After swallowing a few gulps of water, I grabbed the TV remote and turned it off. The reflection in the screen confirmed my thoughts before Storm had time to ask, "Time of departure?"

"Nightfall," I stated, turning in my chair. "They'll be expecting my arrival by a specific path. It will be secure and easy to travel, even though I'm bringing unexpected guests."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it but right now we need to clear the air," Duke declared, moving to another subject. "It's been clarified that all four of us can defend ourselves in more than one way in close range attacks but long-range defense without firearms needs the be resolved. Can you provide us with an alternative for guns?"

"Just give me a second," I requested, slow running though the weapons, gear, and ammunition hidden in my room mentally. "Do you think you could operate a crossbow, it's the closest thing I have to a rifle?"

"I'll take it," Duke accepted.

"Snake," I directed my attention towards him. "One or two?"

Two, Snake mouthed as I raised from my chair then nodded in acknowledgment.

I stood still for several seconds, debating then deciding upon my next actions. I chose to further test their abilities. The best way to do that was to set them loose in the training room. With a sharp turn on my toes, I marched down the adjacent hall with the guys trailing behind me, shooting questioning glances at one another.

" Mav-"

"Shh," I hushed Storm before he could utter my whole name, pressing my back against a plain-looking door. "No questions."

With that said, I smashed down the handle and pressed forcefully back against the door. Once the door was opened, I slipped off my boots before sprinting headlong into the indoor adult playground, if all adults were acrobatic enthusiasts. Tightrope, trampoline, trapeze, matted floors, and uneven bars were only a few toys I had installed at Jane's to prefect my aural techniques. The target for my fleeting feet? That would be the springboard at the end of a balance beam closest to the entrance. After launching myself into the air, I landed, one barefoot before the other on the beam.

"First victim on the beam please," I ordered, lifting my forehead from my knee and straightening my spine.

"I'll take the bait just to see where you're going with this," Duke responded after a stretch of silence.

I honestly tried my hardest not to break into a fit of laughter when Duke's first attempt to mount the beam ended in a painful sounding impact with the floor mats. Storm and Snake were just as courteous and walked over to a basket of Kendos, having a hard time keeping their faces emotionless. Storm looked like he was going to double over any second. As for Snake, it seemed as if he was about to punch out a wall but stayed as far away from any of them so that he couldn't.

"There's no shame in asking for help Duke," I stated my hand braced at my lower back. "I'm never the action, always the reaction."

After a huff of agreement Duke extended his large hand and asked, "Care to help a guy up Maverick?"

I rolled my eyes at him and knocked his hand away, "Pull yourself into a seated position then I start with the whole 'help a guy up' part."


	28. Chapter 28

With the score ten to zip, my ego was inflating to the point were I was surprised I could still stand balanced. I mean the weight of my head should have thrown off my center of gravity but nope, my feet were still firmly planted on the beam. At least Duke could now easily stand up without falling instantly, that was a relief for me.

Every fighter needs a strong foundation on else the rest is useless, I smiled at the wisdom in that memory. On the other hand, the recollection could have come at a more convent time but I can't blame Duke. My body knew what my mind needed and vice versa.

At that particular moment, the cure I required to shrink my ego was a thick slice of humble pie and a large dose of reality to wash it down. In other words, Duke's right hook connected with my jaw with a solidity that would have unhinged it if I hadn't turned at the last possible second. As someone who sees jumping from a perfectly fine tree as an understandably effective choice if you want to get down faster, falling from the beam was a price of cake.

"Humbling, isn't it?" Duke inquired, lowering himself to sit on the beam.

"Welcomingly," I nodded, placing my head on my crossed arms that lay over my bent knees.

"What's wrong, you were zoning pretty hard?" Duke's voice lost its playfulness and as replaced with sinecure concern.

"Just thinking, remembering," I answered wistfully, laying back to gaze up that ceiling.

"I think you think too much," Duke remarked, inducing a humorous giggle out of me.

"And I think you think just enough to get yourself into trouble," I countered with a tone as flamboyant as him, shoving him backwards off his perch.

I didn't hold back the explosive laughter that came out of my mouth as I doubled over, clinching my side. I heard another chuckle join mine. It was raspy, deep and emanating from behind me where two figures sat. I watched with amusement as their shoulders quacked.

"So, Who's next?" I blurted when I was settled enough to speak, a hint of mockery coloring my voice.

After Storm and Snake's started their ether heated staring contest or silent convention that didn't involve blinking, I meandered over to the controls for the whole room sound system and plugged in my iPod. Falling In Reverse's I'm Not A Vampire drum intro played through the rigged speakers as both ninjas took up similar stances.

"No wooden sword for Maverick," my third-person statement absentmindedly spilled from my lips as I strutted towards them.

They attacked together but slightly out of sync. Compared to our unarmed sparring match at the Pit, Storm's movements seem more...fluid with a sword in his hands. Snake, on the other hand, the sword appeared to encumber his normal grace slightly. Well since I was free-handing this, there was nothing to impede my speed so why hold back? I stood firm and evaded their swings at the last possible second to mess with them, stepping when I needed to and where I should.

At some point, I had a coughing Storm in front of me about to lose his breakfast and Snake attempting to take me from behind. In unison with the song change to Mr. Scruff's Spandex Man, I turned and grabbed hold of one of Snake's wrists, heaving him over my shoulders. He landed on the mats beside Storm but once he absorbed the impact his eyes snapped back open, locking on mine. I knew I was in deep when his hand shoot out faster than I could react and wrapped around my ankle in a vise grip. With a swift yank from Snake, I was on my butt, another put me under Snake and a kendo to my throat. It took me a few seconds to get my breathing under control before I could speak, "Congratulations, Snake-eyes. You're the third-"

"Man to ever get you on your back Maverick?" Duke interrupted.

"Thank you for finishing my sentence, Duke. To be honest I don't think I could have done it by myself." I glared at the Joe out of the corner of my eye as Snake helped me off the mat.


	29. Chapter 29

After setting the guys up with their crossbows out behind the house, I jogged into the kitchen for a drink to find Roadblock making dinner. I glared at him over my glass at first but after inhaling the aromas perfuming the air I decided to leave him to his cooking. I raced up to my room form my bow and quiver but before exiting grabbed my spare longbow and quiver form my closet for Storm. I felt bad that Duke, Snake, and I were leaving him out of the fun.

"Maverick," Roadblock called, knocking me free from my thoughts. "Any requests for dinner?"

"Ah...three grilled cheese sandwiches with chopped bacon cut diagonally," I answered cautiously due to strangeness of his question, standing there awkwardly.

Roadblock nodded and returned to his cooking. I took that as a sign to leave and shook off the confusion. I tapped Storm on the shoulder and offered him the equipment before descending down the porch steps to join Duke and Snake. After properly aligning my quiver against my spine and cocking back an arrow, I watched as the projectile flew right by Duke's ear and embedded itself into the dummy twenty yards away.

"That almost hit me," Duke exclaimed, pointing at the arrow and gawking at me, like a teenage girl who just so happened to meet Orlando Bloom.

"I could hit you if you really want me to," I admitted matter-a-factly, readying another shoot.

Snake it seemed, was taking our playful meaningless joking for face value. I smirked at this and adjusted my shot to compensate for Snake. Strom stood well within arm's length but made no attempt to stop me. I felt bad for Snake, not even Duke was trying to help the situation. Well if he's just going to stand there, I thought as I released the arrow.

"Awww... I missed!" I exclaimed, turning away the victim of my projectile. "I was aiming for his right eye, not his forehead but I guess that's not important now."

"I think it was a decent shot," Storm commented, still gazing over at the scene behind me. "A painless death either way."

"I agree it was a good shot but I believe we've taken our tasteless joke too far," Duke concurred, walking over to inspect Snake's still form. "Maverick's good at mind games and I'm not the least bit surprised you fell for one, Snake."

"It's nothing personal," I admitted, facing Snake's hard infuriated features. "All I was trying to do was test to see where our loyalties lie as a group, Snake-eyes. For instance, Storm could care less if I shot either of you. Snake-eyes, you care too much about the life of another that you would sacrifice your own life in the attempt to save theirs. And lastly, Duke was smart enough to know I was playing you like a violin but he didn't even try to tell you. It makes me wonder, can I really trust those that can't trust me or look out for each other with equal concern?"

I paused to allow what I had said to sink in, "I understand I've only just come into the picture and I'm still trying to understand the situation I've been thrown into, but that only means I've neglected to understand, as individuals, who you were before I was made a significant part of your life. I can tell that Storm, you and Snake share a story that I need to be told so we can sort out some type of method to find some kind of middle ground. Duke, I know you too well but I think telling the others when I'm joking might save us a few bodily injuries. As for you Snake, you think you know me when all you know is what's written in your Joe's database and the little girl that gave you a speck of color when all your world was nothing but black."

"I suggest we continue this at another time," Storm advised, gesturing behind me to the porch full of onlookers. "Our little discussion has drawn a crowd."

"Good idea," I agreed.


	30. Chapter 30

After filling every visible inch of the dummy with an arrow, I decided to take a break as the others had ten minutes prior. Perfect timing as always, I arrived just in time to get my sandwiches from Roadblock and take a seat on the porch swing next to Duke who was gnawing away at a medium-rare steak and steamed baby carrots. While Snake and Storm sat in the angled deck chairs in front of us eating bowls of rice and different forms of sushi.

"I got to give it to Roadblock," I said, after finishing one of my six halves. "Man can cook."

That earned me noises of agreement along with a side of head nods. It remained quiet as we all indulged in our food. Even as we just sat there everything seemed carefree. I could tell the stories to come after we'd finished would not be so delightful. I, of course, finished first but respectively waited for the others. Snake was second, followed by Storm, then Duke.

"So spill," I ordered, crossing my legs in the seat and bracing my arms were they overlapped. "What's the story behind you two and this ever-present dislike from everything about each other? But first Snake can you go help Duke with his shot. Don't question, I want both sides of this story."

Snake nodded waving for Duke to follow him. Storm moved to sit beside me on the swing and asked, "Where should I start?"

"Start simple," I encouraged him, turning a little so I was facing him. "What caused the hate?"

"Jealousy and pride over a petty title on my part," Storm began, studying my body language, as I rested my arm on the back of the swing and my head in my hand. "Snake had easily gained the favoritism of my uncle, the Hard Master, do to his natural ability to hold his own in a fight and learn quickly. I come to believe because of my envy I was the first to suspect when my uncle was murdered."

I held up a finger and rose from the swing, leaving Storm almost as stunned as I was. I hurried across the porch and the slight distance towards Snake. I grabbed him by the hand and pulled him back the way I came. I sat him where I had been sitting and started pacing.

"Rewind those last four words and press play, please?" I ask/ordered, still pacing.

"My uncle was murdered," Storm said, sneaking a quick glance exchange with Snake. "I joined Cobra for the chance at avenging my uncle. A man named Zartan, a long-dead Cobra operative was the real killer."

"If you two only knew how coincidentally alike yet vastly different our stories are..." I sighed, releasing the handful of hair I was griping. "I can only hope my story will play out as well as yours. I know the rule of the clan for the killing of another member, a death for a death."

Your master was murdered? Snake signed, a baffled look tinting his eyes.

"Masters actually," I corrected, going for my necklace but remembering I had given it to Snake for safekeeping as soon as realized it wasn't there. "But that story should be left for its proper setting. All masters are smart to keep more than one student so my story isn't really mine alone. I think it would be rude to tell it without those involved present to offer their side where mine lacks do to absence."


	31. Flashback

Mommy told me to play outside while her guest was here. I took off for the woods the first chance I got while Mommy's back was turned. I knew I'd get in trouble when I got back but I was too excited to see what all the fuss about staying out of the woods. They weren't scary looking so why would she be worried about me going in them? To me, it was as if Mommy was keeping me from something I should have known. 

I held on to my trustee backpack's straps as I hiked through the thick vines and tall grasses. I wasn't worried about getting lost, Mommy had told me I had an 'uncanny ability' to find my way back to places I've been before. She was right. In Japan, I could always find my way back to uncle Wu's apartment no matter how far I'd ventured from it. Finding my way back home through the woods shouldn't be too hard, right?

At some point in my little adventure, I came upon a colossal green arch much like those red ones that led to those pretty shrines in Japan and a thin barely noticeable path that lead through said arch. I followed this path with my eyes down to make sure I didn't lose it. Just as I started to hear sounds the path became too hard to make out. I looked around in frustration and just out of the corner of my eye I saw a little boy dressed in dark orange, or maybe it was red, disappear behind a tree.

"Hey," I called, turning, as fast as I could I ran to the tree. "Wai-"

I felt something bind around my ankle and pull my legs out from under me sideways. My shoulder and left side took most of the ground impact before I ultimately ended up dangling from a tree by a strangely made rope trap. At first, I just hung there but when I started to feel the effect of all my blood rushing to my head I figured getting down would help me a bit. I started to swing. Thank you, Mommy, for gymnastics lessons. It took me a while but eventually, I got enough momentum to reach the knot. It took my five tries but soon enough I got the knot loose. I kept my eyes and mouth shut tight as I fell but when I landed, I didn't feel the earth.

"Yoi shigoto, on'nanoko," (Good work, girl) an older male spoke.

Slowly I felt myself tilt and opened my eyes wide as I was set firmly on my feet. I turned to my 'rescuer' and came face to chest with a real-life ninja. My first reaction was that of wonderstruck, then when the realization set in further I turned and took off running as fast as my little legs could propel me. I wasn't really thinking about where I was running away to, just that I had to run. That's probably why I eventually ended up halting in front of a little girl carrying a heavily loaded basket on her hip. She looked about my age, maybe younger. She had a long, thick braid of ink-black hair resting on her shoulder and a China doll's face. 

I stood there a second, too confused to move. I slowly straightened out of my crocked stopping pose, too absorbed in the girl in front of me to care about the ninja I'd been running from breaking through the brush behind me.

"Watashi no josei!" ( My lady!) The man's surprised voice wasn't even enough to knock me back into reality.

"Kono on'nanoko wa daredesu ka?" (Who is this girl?) When she spoke, it was in kind of curious whisper. "Kanojo wa, watashitachi ga sensei ni kanojo o toru hitsuyō ga ari, kowagatte, ushinawareta ni miemasu. " (She looks scared and lost, we should take her to Teacher.)

"Nō," (No) someone yelled making all three of us lookup.

As the other two watched the boy from before descend from a nearby tree, I scurried in behind the little oriental girl as if she would keep me safe. In my situation, I thought of her as the only one who could help me and actually want to. I was sticking with her.

"I think I'll go with her, I'm not really sure about either of you," I said, keeping a close eye on everyone.

"Anata wa watashitachi o rikai dekimasu ka?" (You understand us?) the man asked, placing his sword back in its cover.

"Why is that so surprising, you can understand me?" I countered, squishing my eyebrows together.

As the ninja nodded, the girl switched her hold on her basket. By the size of it and how full it was, I could have been right in thinking said basket was probably pretty heavy. I extended my hands to help her with the weight but she ended up dropping it in surprise.

"Anata ga kizutsukete iru!" (You're hurt!) The girl exclaimed, grabbing me by both wrists.

"No, no, no." I blurted out but wasn't heard.

"Dare ga anata ni kore o shita?" (Who did this to you?) she demanded to know.

"Nobody," that answer caused all three of them to look at me strangely. "I was born with these."

"Kanojo ga kowarete," (She's broken.) the boy smirked, earning him a confused look for me.

"Lance!" The girl scolded him.

"Sumimasen?" (Excuse me?) I spoke the phrase out of a knee jerk reaction, the rudeness some people had expressed in Japan about me in my presence had this particular impulse well-rooted.

"Anata ga kowarete iru," (You're broken.) he stated as if he knew it was a fact.

I just looked at him for a moment before bursting into laughter. I couldn't help but find his stupidity hilarious. Just as quickly as my laughter started I became serious and held the boy's unsure gaze as I spoke, "You really shouldn't talk about things you don't know anything about or else you'll look really stupid when you're proven wrong."

"Sorera wa totemo wakai ichi kara kenmeina kotobadesu," (Those are wise words for one so young.) ninja man said, nodding in approval.

"Sō, anata ga kizutsukete inai?" (So, you're not hurt?) the girl inquired.

"I'm fine," I tell her, gently smiling in an attempt to put her at ease. "My name is Grace, by the way, you are?"

"Hanabira," she smiled back.

"Keegan," the ninja offered his hand as soon as I looked at him.

"Nīsu kaigi anata," (Nice meeting you.) I bowed to them. " And, thanks for catching my back there, Keegan."

"Sore wa nani mo nakatta," (It was nothing.) Keegan dismissed my appreciation with a wave of his hand. "Watashi wa anata ga soto ni deta ima demo odoroite iru." (I'm still surprised you got out.)

"Yeah, well today is just full of those I guess."


	32. Chapter 32

It was just as I remembered it. The grass was longer and the trees were just that much taller. However, in retrospect, everything was exactly as it was the last time I pasted under the green arches that lead the way to The Oak. The only real difference between the multiple other times that I had returned to the village was that I was bringing people with me.

I had let Storm lead, giving him a compass and a witty remark about how not everyone knew the direction of true north. I was behind him with Duke on my tail and Snake bringing up the rear. It's not that I didn't believe in Duke's obvious skill, but I did admit straight to his face that I wasn't completely convinced that he would last very long in a village filled with overly cautious and highly trained ninjas if he didn't stick to either Snake or myself. As for Storm, he always held himself back when it came to me, but even then he was better than some of our masters when it came to swordplay.

The only one I wasn't at all worried about was Snake. I knew that he could take care of himself and would watch out for Duke if anything serious did happen. Snake was loyal to his friends, that why I had him covering Duke's six.

I noticed a definite spike in tension coming from the boys when we started to hear the sounds of chanting. "It's just the Earths in evening prayer. We might even catch my Sister Hanabira before they start heading back to the village."

"Sister?" A honey-like voice spoke as we approached a pretty substantial gathering of green-robed individuals. 

"Hanabira," I spotted the porcelain doll face of my sister and forward dismounted Epic to run over to her, enveloping Hanabira in a tight hug which she didn't have a problem returning in equal enthusiasm. 

"You are back," Hanabira took my face in her hands, beaming at me before looking over my shoulder at the men of my group. "And you brought others... Are you not worried?"

"Amaya should be fine but I am a bit unsure about Zephyr," I admitted looking back and catching eyes with Snake and then Storm. "At least I won't have to deal with Ian's father and his views on the subject. Ian might enjoy some new faces."

"He is like you, adventurous," Hanabira smiling mischievously with I returned in kind. "You have pride in that. He is waiting at home and will be there when you arrive. We will celebrate your return."

"I hope he hasn't missed me too much," I fretted.

"How could a child not miss their mother?" Hanabira asked all sage-like as she gently gripped my arms.

"I never thought I'd be gone this long," I told her before Hanabira enveloped me in another comforting hug. "I'll see you at the house?"

"Why not come back with us?" Hanabira asked, tucking a piece of loose hair behind my ear. "I'm sure your friends would appreciate a quick arrival."

"So would my enemies," I emphasized, earning a nod of understanding from my sister.


End file.
